Westinghouse creditors committee opposes extension, looks to file plan

By Caroline Salls

Pittsburgh, Dec. 6 – Westinghouse Electric Co. LLC’s statutory unsecured claimholders’ committee objected to the company’s proposed exclusivity extension, stating that it would like to file its own plan for the Chapter 11 cases, according to a filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

“The UCC needs a plan that maximizes value for its creditor constituency,” the objection said.

“Conversely, the debtors’ owner, Toshiba, recently disclosed that it needs a quickie deal to recognize tax losses, and the debtors’ management has no motivation to maximize value for creditors.”

As a result, the committee said it needs to file its own plan under which it would “take control of the sale process and make sure creditors’ interests are optimized.”

The creditor group said Westinghouse has failed to materially advance the plan process since it was granted an initial exclusivity extension.

In addition, the committee said the company has not worked with it to begin formulating an acceptable Chapter 11 plan.

Instead, the claimants said Westinghouse again sought to transfer substantial estate funds to the non-debtor entities without adequately protecting the unsecured claimholders.

Specifically, the committee said the company sought under a debtor-in-possession financing amendment to invest up to an additional $53 million of estate-borrowed funds in non-debtor affiliates, “without any oversight, and with little prospect of the money coming back to the estates.”

Westinghouse, a Cranberry Township, Pa.-based nuclear products and services company and a subsidiary of Toshiba, filed bankruptcy on March 29, 2017. The Chapter 11 case number is 17-10751.

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