Milbank has successfully represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of PHI, Inc., et al. (the “Official Committee”). PHI, Inc. (the “Company”) is a global helicopter transportation provider, headquartered in Lafayette, Louisiana and founded in 1949. The Company operates in two segments, oil and gas and air medical, with approximately 238 aircrafts worldwide.
On March 14, 2019, PHI, Inc. and four of its affiliates (the “Debtors”) filed voluntary chapter 11 petitions in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas to address the imminent maturity of its 5.25% senior notes in the aggregate principal amount of $500 million. As of the date of the bankruptcy filing, the Company had approximately $1.3 billion of assets and nearly $718 million of liabilities.
As counsel to the Official Committee, Milbank played an instrumental role in assisting the Official Committee reach a consensual resolution, after productive mediation, with the Debtors and other key parties in interest regarding various aspects of the Debtors’ plan and overall restructuring. The confirmed amended Plan of Reorganization, which incorporates the terms of the settlement, (i) substantially de-levers the Debtors’ balance sheet, (ii) provides for an equity raise of at least $75 million from certain commitment parties, (iii) transfers the ownership of the reorganized debtors to the Debtors’ unsecured creditors, and (iv) provides for exit financing in an aggregate amount of up to $225 million.
The Bankruptcy Court confirmed PHI’s amended Plan of Reorganization on July 31, 2019. The company emerged from bankruptcy on September 4, 2019.
The Milbank team was led by partners Dennis Dunne, Samuel Khalil, and Andrew Leblanc (Financial Restructuring) and included associates Nelly Almeida and Robert Nussbaum (Financial Restructuring).
