Chrysler's non-TARP lenders reveal their identities after objecting

By Rebecca Melvin

New York, May 6 - Chrysler LLC's hold out creditor group, which was denied a motion to keep their identities sealed, named themselves in a filing at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York on Wednesday.

The so called "non-TARP lenders" include Schultze Master Fund Ltd.; Arrow Distressed Securities Fund; Schultze Apex Master Fund; Stairway Capital Management II, LP; Group G Partners LP; GGCP Sequoia LP; Foxhill Opportunity Master Fund, LP; Oppenheimer Senior Floating Rate Fund; and Oppenheimer Master Loan Fund LLC.

The group, which holds a total of about $295 million of Chrysler's senior debt, consists of unaffiliated lenders under Chrysler's first-lien credit agreement, under which senior lenders all together are owed $6.9 billion, according to the creditors' filing.

The unmasked creditors said there were others that were initially part of their group but withdrew as a consequence of concerns stemming from publicity surrounding Chrysler's Chapter 11 cases.

"Each of the Chrysler non-TARP lenders will lose money for their investors based on the current proposal made by Chrysler to senior lenders," according to the filing, put together by the creditors' counsel, Thomas Lauria of White & Chase. "And none of them hold any credit-default swaps or hedges with respect to their holdings of senior debt."

Bankruptcy judge Arthur Gonzalez denied the creditors' request, saying their identities and other information like pricing were required under the bankruptcy code.

As part of his ruling, Gonzalez said the creditors didn't demonstrate that threats, including death threats, which they claimed to be subjected to, were bona fide threats.

Lauria argued that their fears were heightened because their claims were singled out by president Barack Obama when he announced Chrysler's bankruptcy filing last week.

The statements were in effect declaring "open season" on creditors, Lauria said.

Chrysler, an Auburn Hills, Mich.-based automotive company, filed for bankruptcy on April 30. Its Chapter 11 case number is 09-50002.

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