Renew Energy hearings on amended disclosure, bid procedures adjourned

By Jennifer Lanning Drey

Portland, Ore., Aug. 21 - Renew Energy LLC's hearing for approval of the disclosure statement for its plan of liquidation was adjourned to Sept. 17 by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, according to a source familiar with the case.

The hearing for approval of the bidding procedures for the proposed sale of substantially all of Renew's assets was also adjourned to Sept. 17.

Both hearings were most recently scheduled for Aug. 21.

As previously reported, Renew's official committee of unsecured creditors objected to the disclosure statement on May 22, claiming it does not pay priority creditors in full and that it may not have been proposed in good faith.

Renew filed an amended plan of liquidation and related disclosure statement on July 17.

Creditor treatment

Creditor treatment under Renew's most recently filed plan of liquidation will include:

• Holders of administrative expense claims will be paid in full in cash without interest;

• Holders of $15.87 million of priority unsecured claims will receive a full recovery. If the class votes to accept the plan, the recovery will be provided over time, while if they vote against the plan, they will receive a cash recovery on the effective date;

• Debtor-in-possession financing lender West Pointe Bank's $4.0 million claim will be paid in full either through a combination of the proceeds of the collateral securing its claim and Renew's additional assets or funding supplied by Bankers' Bank, or it will be paid from the sale of the company's assets;

Alternatively, the purchaser of the assets will be required to assume the DIP lender claim, and the assets will transfer to the purchaser subject to the West Pointe lien;

• The State of Wisconsin Department of Transportation's $3.15 million of loan claims will be paid in full out of a combination of proceeds of the collateral securing the claim and additional funding supplied by Bankers' Bank or will be assumed by the buyer;

• Bankers' Bank's $104.61 million construction lien claim and the Bankers' Bank revolving loan claim will be paid using any proceeds of the collateral securing the claim or by its collateral, whether obtained by credit bid in connection with the company's asset sale or the surrender of the collateral;

• Holders of $38 million of bond claims will receive amounts remaining in bond accounts established with the proceeds of the bonds. At the time of Renew's bankruptcy filing, the accounts contained $2.24 million.

Bondholders will also receive proceeds from the indenture trustee's collateral;

• The town of Aztalan, Wis., $262,609 unpaid real estate taxes claim will be paid in full in cash over a five-year period;

• Holders of $62.55 million of other secured claims will receive the proceeds, if any, of the collateral securing their claim, less all amounts to which the liens and security interests securing the claims are junior;

• Holders of $36.4 million of general unsecured claims will receive their share of funds available for distribution from a liquidating trust consisting of all avoidance actions and other unresolved causes of action that are not collateral of a secured creditor; and

• Interest holders will receive their share of any remaining estate assets after all other creditors have been paid in full.

Renew Energy, a Jefferson, Wis., ethanol producer, filed for bankruptcy on Jan. 30, 2009. Its Chapter 11 case number is 09-19491.

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