Ross M. Kwasteniet, P.C.

Celsius Network LLC — Representing Celsius Network LLC and its affiliates in their Chapter 11 cases filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Celsius is one of the largest and most sophisticated cryptocurrency-based finance platforms in the world and provides financial services to institutional, corporate, and retail clients across more than 100 countries.

Seadrill Limited (Second Restructuring) — Represented Seadrill Limited and certain of its direct and indirect subsidiaries in their multi-jurisdictional restructuring of approximately $6.1 billion of funded debt. Seadrill is a leading global provider of offshore contract drilling services and employs nearly 3,100 individuals across 15 countries and five continents. Seadrill's Chapter 11 cases, one of the largest filings of 2021, equitized approximately $4.9 billion of secured debt across twelve silos and facilitated a capital investment of $350 million, enabling Seadrill to continue to operate its modern fleet of drilling units.  

Seadrill New Finance Limited — Represented Seadrill New Finance Limited and 11 of its affiliates (together, the “NSNCo Group”), the fourth group of Seadrill Limited entities to undergo a restructuring, in their one-day prepackaged Chapter 11 cases in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. The NSNCo Group utilized Chapter 11 to implement an amend-and-extend of approximately $622 million in senior secured notes and transfer majority ownership of NSNCo from the wider Seadrill Limited group to Seadrill’s secured noteholders. The NSNCo Group’s reorganization plan was confirmed within one day of the filing of the Chapter 11 cases.

Valaris plc — Represented Valaris plc and 89 of its subsidiaries in their prearranged Chapter 11 cases. Valaris, which is incorporated in the United Kingdom, is the world’s largest offshore driller by fleet size, owning 67 drilling rigs and operating in every major offshore hydrocarbon basin throughout the globe. Valaris filed Chapter 11 with a restructuring support agreement and backstop commitment agreement to fully equitize all $7.1 billion of its prepetition funded debt, consisting of an unsecured revolving credit facility and 15 series of unsecured notes. The noteholders supporting the restructuring also have committed to a fully backstopped rights offering for $500 million of new secured notes upon emergence from Chapter 11 as well as to provide a $500 million DIP financing facility.

Murray Energy Holdings Co. — Represented Murray Energy Holdings Co. and certain of its subsidiaries in their Chapter 11 cases in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Ohio. Murray is the largest privately-owned coal company in the United States, headquartered in St. Clairsville, Ohio, and has operations primarily in Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, Alabama, Illinois, Utah, and Colombia, South America. Murray employs nearly 5,500 people, including approximately 2,400 active union members. Murray entered Chapter 11 with approximately $2.7 billion in prepetition funded debt and more than $8 billion in actual or potential pension and employee benefit obligations.

Blackhawk Mining LLC — Represented Blackhawk Mining LLC and its affiliates in their prepackaged Chapter 11 cases in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. Blackhawk is a leading metallurgical coal producer based in Lexington, Kentucky, and has operations primarily in West Virginia and Kentucky. Blackhawk employs more than 2,800 employees. Blackhawk entered Chapter 11 to implement a prepackaged plan of reorganization that will eliminate approximately $650 million of the Company’s nearly $1.1 billion in prepetition funded debt.

Windstream Holdings, Inc., — Represented Windstream Holdings, Inc., and its debtor subsidiaries in their Chapter 11 restructuring in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Windstream is a leading provider of advanced network communications, technology, broadband, entertainment and security solutions to consumers and small businesses in 18 states. In bankruptcy, Windstream commenced litigation to recharacterize a $3.5 billion spin-off and master lease of certain telecommunications network assets. That litigation resulted in an innovative settlement that provided over approximately $1.2 billion in net present value and billions of dollars of improvement to Windstream’s telecommunications infrastructure. Windstream also confirmed a Chapter 11 plan or reorganization that addresses more than $5.6 billion in funded debt obligations, provides for a $750 million equity rights offering, and positions Windstream to achieve its long-term goals.

Aegean Marine Petroleum Network Inc. — Represented Aegean Marine Petroleum Network Inc. and certain subsidiaries (“Aegean”), a leading international marine fuel logistics company with approximately $900 million of funded indebtedness, in their Chapter 11 cases filed in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Aegean operates in more than 20 countries worldwide with headquarters in Athens, Greece and a corporate office in New York, New York. In connection with its restructuring, Aegean has reached agreements with certain key stakeholders to deleverage its balance sheet by more than $700 million and continue as a going concern.

Gastar Exploration Inc. — Represented Gastar Exploration Inc., and its wholly-owned subsidiary Northwest Property Ventures LLC, in their prepackaged Chapter 11 restructuring in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. Gastar is a publicly-traded oil and natural gas exploration and production company headquartered in Houston, Texas with assets concentrated in the STACK shale play in Oklahoma. The company’s prepackaged restructuring proposes to address nearly $600 million in funded-debt and preferred equity obligations, including the elimination of more than $300 million in funded-debt and preferred equity obligations, and provides for $100 million in committed financing to fund the Debtors’ business in and upon emergence from Chapter 11.  

Armstrong Energy, Inc. — Represented Armstrong Energy, Inc. and certain of its affiliates, producers and marketers of thermal coal in the Illinois Basin, in their Chapter 11 proceedings before the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. At the time the cases were filed, Armstrong had funded debt of approximately $200 million of senior secured notes. Armstrong and its affiliates commenced their Chapter 11 cases with a restructuring support agreement and Chapter 11 plan that had the support of a substantial portion of their secured noteholders, primary mineral rights provider, and equity sponsor, as well as a contemplated investor for purposes of consummating the plan.

Seadrill Limited — Represented Seadrill Limited and certain of its direct and indirect subsidiaries in their multi-jurisdictional restructuring of approximately $20 billion of contract and debt obligations. Seadrill is a leading global provider of offshore contract drilling services and employs nearly 4,000 individuals across 22 countries and five continents. Seadrill's pre-arranged Chapter 11 cases, one of the largest filings in 2017 based on asset size, resulted in the re-profiling of approximately $6 billion of secured debt, eliminated approximately $3.5 billion of unsecured bond and contractual obligations, and facilitated a capital investment of more than $1 billion. In the months preceding Chapter 11, Seadrill also consummated a series of ring-fencing transactions that successfully prevented its non-consolidated businesses from also having to commence Chapter 11 cases. Seadrill and its debtor subsidiaries confirmed their Chapter 11 plan with near universal consensus in approximately 7 months and emerged from Chapter 11 in less than 10 months.

Light Tower Rentals, Inc. — Represented the ad hoc committee of bondholders, composed of Clearlake Capital Group and Avenue Capital Management, in connection with the prepackaged Chapter 11 plan of reorganization of Light Tower Rentals, Inc. (LTR), which was completed in fewer than 40 days from filing and resulted in a 90 percent reduction of LTR’s debt. The Chapter 11 plan provided for a recapitalization of LTR, led by affiliates of Clearlake, in partnership with the company’s management team and other existing stakeholders. LTR is a diversified specialty oilfield surface equipment rental company focused on operations in the Permian basin, with yards in other leading U.S. shale basins including the Eagle Ford, Bakken and Marcellus.

Platinum Energy Solutions, Inc. — Represented Platinum Energy Solutions, Inc., a Houston, Texas based oilfield services provider specializing in premium hydraulic fracturing, coiled tubing, and other pressure pumping services, in all aspects of its successful comprehensive out-of-court restructuring. Platinum's various restructuring transactions, including a successful exchange offer for Platinum's 14.250% senior secured notes, retired more than 55% of Platinum's debt, as well as eliminated more than $90 million of contingent and other liabilities based on various agreements reached with its material contract counterparties.

Sorenson Communications, Inc. — Represented Sorenson Communications, Inc. and its affiliates, together the leading provider of telecommunications services and technology for hearing impaired individuals, in their Chapter 11 cases. Utilizing a “straddle” solicitation to confirm its plan of reorganization in 38 days, Sorenson successfully restructured approximately $1.3 billion of funded indebtedness, paid all general unsecured claims in full, and returned value to existing equity holders.

EveryWare Global, Inc. — Represented EveryWare Global, Inc. and its affiliates, leading global marketers of tabletop and food preparation products for the consumer, foodservice, and specialty markets, in their prepackaged Chapter 11 restructuring involving approximately $300 million in funded debt. EveryWare was recognized by Turnaround & Workouts as one of the Most Successful Restructurings of 2015.

Samson Resources — Represented Samson Resources, a privately held onshore oil and gas exploration and production company with headquarters in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in its Chapter 11 restructuring of more than $4 billion of debt. Samson has operations primarily located in Colorado, Louisiana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas and Wyoming, and operates, or has royalty or working interests in, approximately 8,700 oil and gas production sites.

Patriot Coal Corporation — Represented Patriot Coal Corporation and certain of its affiliates, producers and marketers of coal in the eastern United States with several active mining complexes in West Virginia, in their Chapter 11 proceedings before the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. In less than five months, Patriot completed a successful Chapter 11 reorganization that addressed $790 million in funded debt obligations as well as Patriot’s significant and complex legacy and environmental liabilities.

Cengage Learning, Inc. — Represented Cengage Learning, Inc., a leading educational content, software and services company for the academic, professional and library markets worldwide, in its prearranged Chapter 11 case. With annual revenues of approximately $2 billion, the company has approximately 5,200 employees with operations in more than 20 countries worldwide. Cengage restructured its balance sheet and significantly reduced its approximately $5.8 billion of outstanding debt to better position itself for long-term growth and profitability. To this end, prior to its Chapter 11 filing, Cengage entered into a restructuring support agreement with an ad hoc committee of first lien lenders holding approximately $2 billion of the Company's first lien debt, whereby the lenders committed to support a restructuring transaction that eliminated more than $4 billion in debt from Cengage's balance sheet.

Hawker Beechcraft — Represented Hawker Beechcraft Inc., a world-leading manufacturer of business, special mission, light attack and trainer aircraft, in its successful prearranged Chapter 11 cases. The restructuring involved conversion of approximately $2.5 billion of bank and bond debt into equity, termination of two defined benefit pension plans and a significant operational restructuring that eliminated jet production and focused on the Company's core Beechcraft, defense, special mission and customer support businesses.

Friendly's Ice Cream Corp. — Represented a leading full-service, family-oriented restaurant chain and provider of ice cream products in the Eastern United States, in Chapter 11 proceeding through which substantially all of Friendly's assets were acquired by an affiliate of Sun Capital Partners, Inc. through a credit bid sale transaction. The sale closed and the Friendly's business emerged from Chapter 11 approximately 3 months after the bankruptcy filing.

Local Insight Media Holdings, Inc. — Represented the fifth largest directory publisher and local search provider in the U.S., in its restructuring. At the time of its filing, Local Insight served more than 340,000 businesses across 42 states, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, with annual revenue of more than $700 million. Local Insight Media was selected by Turnarounds & Workouts as one of the most "Successful Restructurings of 2011."

YRC Worldwide, Inc. — Represented YRC Worldwide, Inc., one of the country's largest LTL transportation businesses, with operations in U.S., Canada, Mexico and China, in a comprehensive out-of-court restructuring. The deal refinanced more than $1 billion in secured indebtedness, converted deferred fees and interest under YRC's senior credit facility into equity, provided for a $100 million new-money investment into YRC and extended the maturity of YRC's refinanced debt obligations and its deferred pension obligations. YRC's recent financial restructuring was supported by its primary union, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, more than 20 different multi-employer pension funds and all of the lenders under YRC's secured credit facilities.

U.S. Concrete, Inc. — Represented U.S. Concrete, Inc. and its affiliates, a leading provider of ready-mixed concrete and concrete-related products in select markets throughout the United States, in their restructuring of approximately $315 million in funded indebtedness through a pre-arranged Chapter 11 restructuring. U.S. Concrete emerged from bankruptcy approximately 4 months after seeking Chapter 11 relief. Through the restructuring, U.S. Concrete successfully equitized approximately $285 million in bond debt, paid general unsecured claims in full, and provided existing equity with a warrant package to acquire up to 15 percent of the reorganized equity.

Broder Bros., Co. — Represented Broder Bros., Co., one of the nation’s largest distributors of trade, private label and exclusive apparel brands to the imprinting, embroidery and promotion products industry, in a successful out-of-court restructuring. The restructuring involves the conversion of $213.5 million in bond debt into equity and the issuance of $94.9 million in new notes. Existing equity holders retained a 4% direct equity interest and were issued warrants to acquire 12% of the company's fully diluted common stock.

Movie Gallery, Inc. — Represented the second largest North American home entertainment specialty retailer. At the time of its filing, Movie Gallery operated approximately 4,600 retail stores located throughout all 50 states and Canada. In 2006, Movie Gallery generated annual revenue of approximately $2.5 billion with almost 40,000 employees.

Hines Horticulture — Represented one of the largest commercial nursery operators in North America. Successfully negotiated a going-concern sale transaction that closed in January, 2009.

Hyatt Corporation — Represented Hyatt Corporation and partners in the acquisition of a Hyatt-managed hotel on Waikiki Beach, Hawaii through a Chapter 11 plan. The acquisition, valued at $410 million, involved complicated tax, corporate and bankruptcy issues and was effectuated pursuant to U.S. and Japanese restructuring proceedings.

Calpine Corporation — Represented Calpine Corporation and its affiliates in what, at the time of its filing, was described as the sixth largest Chapter 11 case in history. Representation included restructuring of many long-term energy contracts.

Radnor Holdings Corporation — Represented Silver Point as DIP lender for $103 million DIP credit facility.

Tower Automotive, Inc. — Represented a tier-1 automotive supplier in all aspects of its Chapter 11 proceedings, including vendor and customer negotiations and asset sales.

Conseco, Inc. — Represented a multi-faceted financial services firm in what, at the time of its filing, was described as the third largest Chapter 11 bankruptcy case in history. Restructured approximately $6 billion in debt.

Maxim Craneworks — Represented a national equipment rental company in all aspects of its Chapter 11 proceedings.

Exide Technologies — Represented a $2.5 billion annual revenue global battery manufacturer in all aspects of its Chapter 11 proceedings.

HALO Industries — Represented HIG Capital in its Section 363 acquisition of substantially all assets of HALO Industries, a leading global promotional products distributor.

Teligent, Inc. — Represented a multibillion-dollar asset competitive local exchange carrier in connection with its Chapter 11 restructuring.