Ampal-American committee wins court approval for disclosure statement

By Caroline Salls

Pittsburgh, Feb. 27 - Ampal-American Israel Corp.'s official committee of unsecured creditors' disclosure statement was approved Wednesday by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

The order did not provide a specific date for the plan confirmation hearing, but set a schedule under which the voting record date will be Feb. 21, the solicitation deadline will be will five business days after the receipt of all required approvals, clearances, permits, rulings, or exemptions, the voting deadline will be at least 40 days after the solicitation deadline, the plan objection deadline will be at least 40 days after the solicitation deadline, and the plan confirmation hearing will be held at least seven days after the objection deadline.

According to the disclosure statement, terms of the committee's plan of reorganization for the company would include the following:

• Administrative claims, priority tax claims and priority claims would be paid in full in cash;

• Holders of general unsecured claims would receive a share of either 100% of the preferred stock of the reorganized company or a cash payment if an equity buyout option is exercised, after payment in cash out of funds held in series B and series C deposit accounts;

• The funds held in the series B and series C deposit accounts would be distributed to the holders of series B and series C debentures;

• The committee's plan does not provide for any distribution to holders of intercompany claims, but the reorganized company would have the right to adjust, reinstate, cancel or extinguish those claims;

• Holders of equity interests would retain their shares of class A stock in the reorganized company and would have the right to exercise an equity buyout option by making a cash investment in Ampal-American in an amount equal to the greater of 75% of the net allowed general unsecured claims amount as of the plan effective date or an undisclosed dollar amount, in which case the holders of general unsecured claims would receive a share of the cash payment instead of receiving preferred stock;

• On the plan effective date, all property of Ampal-American's estate, including any and all causes of action, would vest in the reorganized company; and

• Confirmation of the committee's plan would be conditioned on the execution of an exit facility.

Ampal-American Israel, a Tel Aviv-based holding company, filed for bankruptcy on Aug. 29. The Chapter 11 case number is 12-13689.

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