Weirton Steel gets exclusivity extension to March 31

By Jeff Pines

Washington, Jan. 29 - Weirton Steel Corp. received an extension to its exclusivity period to file a plan of reorganization and solicit votes to March 31, according to a Jan. 28 filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of West Virginia.

Both J.P. Morgan Trust Co. NA and the informal committee of senior secured noteholders objected to the motion for an extension. J.P. Morgan is an indenture trustee and collateral agent for the company's 10% senior secured notes and secured pollution control revenue refunding bonds due 2012.

Weirton has $118.24 million principal amount of the senior secured notes and $27.35 million principal amount of the pollution control bonds outstanding.

In a previous court filing, the noteholders said Weirton Steel "is improperly seeking an extension of exclusivity to pressure selected creditors into accepting an unfavorable and unconfirmable plan of reorganization."

The noteholders also said the company has not given an adequate reason for extending the exclusive period.

In their court filing they said the company "has admittedly made little progress in the negotiations with its creditors or demonstrated that it can file a viable plan of reorganization."

In a Jan. 28 hearing conducted via telephone, the judge overruled their objection and granted the company the extensions.

The case number is 03-01802.

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