Ezra creditor opposes exclusivity extension, cites lack of progress

By Caroline Salls

Pittsburgh, Dec. 12 – Ezra Holdings Ltd. unsecured creditor Svenska Handelsbanken AB asked the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York to deny the company’s proposed exclusivity extension to allow other parties in interest to file a plan, according to an objection filed Tuesday.

“It has been nearly nine months since the debtors commenced these cases and little activity of note has occurred,” Svenska Handelsbanken said in the objection.

In fact, the creditor said Ezra debtors acknowledged the lack of activity in the exclusivity motion “by attributing their efforts to ‘address [their] complex capital structure and the need to review and understand [their] and their respective affiliates’ role in various exit strategy scenarios’ as good faith progress in these cases.”

Svenska Handelsbanken said is not aware of any filings or communications aimed at advancing the resolution of Ezra’s cases.

“Surely, options exist for the debtors to maximize creditor recoveries in these cases in the near term,” the objection said.

For example, Svenska Handelsbanken said Ezra could conduct a process to sell its most valuable operating assets. However, the creditor has instead been meeting with potential lenders and investors with no governing process or timeline.

Alternatively, Svenska Handelsbanken said the company could reorganize, and any assets derived from its affiliates would belong to the reorganized entities.

“The second exclusivity motion fails to explain why such options are not feasible,” according to the objection.

A hearing is scheduled for Dec. 19.

Ezra, a Singapore-based provider of offshore support for the oil and gas industry, filed for bankruptcy on March 19, 2017. The Chapter 11 case number is 17-22405.

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