Who gets to control PG&E? Hedge funds, wildfire victims await critical ruling
But the hedge funds' efforts have been put on hold at least temporarily, while a judge decides whether to allow these investors to press ahead with their plan right away or wait for
Although he didn't rule, the judge appeared skeptical of opening up the bankruptcy case to a competing plan, saying he feared it would gum up the proceedings and hinder quick payments to fire victims.
"A battle over corporate control ... has nothing to do with paying victims," the judge said. "Do the victims want to get bogged down on that kind of battle?"
Victims' attorneys, however, said the utility hasn't put nearly enough on the table, and the bondholders' plan represents their best chance of getting paid what they're owed. "We don't believe there's much more gas left in (
The bondholders' plan puts more than
Time remains a huge consideration.
Montali in August rejected a request by the bondholders to proceed immediately with their takeover plan, saying an open competition would drag out the court case and delay payment to wildfire victims.
But then the bondholders, led by
Under a plan jointly submitted to the bankruptcy court, the bondholders would pay
"We don't have evidence of the validity of the claims," said
He urged the judge to appoint a mediator to find common ground between the
"That gap can be bridged," the
Any over-payment would come at the expense of
"This is an embodiment of a 'screw them all!' approach," a consortium of major
The actual size of the victims' damages remains the X factor in the bankruptcy. Hearings are set to begin in January, including a full-blown trial on whether
The bondholders' payment would come in a 50/50 mix of cash and
But before the bondholders could begin selling their plan to other creditors, they had to get Montali's permission to end
The bondholders have other allies. A consortium of unsecured creditors, including
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