Noble Corp. Emerges from Successful Chapter 11 Case

Category: Defining Matters
Date: Feb. 09, 2021
Title: Noble Corp. Emerges from Successful Chapter 11 Case

On Friday, Feb. 5, 2021, Noble Holding Corporation plc and its affiliated debtors (Noble) emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy following a successful in-court restructuring process before Judge Jones in the Southern District of Texas Bankruptcy Court. Kramer Levin represented an ad hoc group holding approximately $700 million of Noble’s outstanding priority guaranteed notes.

The Kramer Levin team, working with Ducera Partners as investment banker, Akin Gump LLP as U.K. counsel, and Foley & Lardner LLP as local counsel, guided the ad hoc group through complex, multi-party prepetition negotiations that resulted in all key parties in interest agreeing to the terms of a restructuring support agreement that formed the cornerstone of Noble’s reorganization. The restructuring support agreement charted a swift and orderly path through chapter 11, ultimately paving the way to a consensual confirmation hearing on Nov. 20, 2020. The comprehensive restructuring reduced the company’s funded debt from approximately $4 billion to less than $450 million, and featured a successful rights offering of $200 million of new second lien notes, backstopped in large part by the ad hoc group.

The Kramer Levin team was led by Corporate Restructuring and Bankruptcy partner Thomas Moers Mayer; special counsel Joseph A. Shifer; and associates Andrew Pollack and Benjamin S. Sieck. Members of the Kramer Levin team essential to the success of the restructuring include Corporate partners John Bessonette, Jordan M. Rosenbaum, Abbe L. Dienstag and Todd Lenson; Finance partner Terrence L, Shen; Corporate associates Adam Busch, Nicholas Tarnowski, Jeffrey H. Taub, Ilya Kontorovich, Amanda Webber and June Jhe; Tax partner Barry Herzog and associate Rita Celebrezze D’Souza; Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits partner Marissa J. Holob and special counsel Avram J. Cahn; Litigation partner Alan R. Friedman and associate Eric H. Rosoff; and Environmental partner Charles S. Warren and associate Julia A. Quigley.