On June 18, 2015, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York confirmed the Joint Chapter 11 Plan of Reorganization of NII Holdings, Inc. (NII) proposed by the Debtors and the Creditors’ Committee. NII's bankruptcy was one of the largest Chapter 11 cases in 2014. Led by Kenneth H. Eckstein, Kramer Levin represented the seven-member Creditors' Committee.
The Creditors' Committee, with the advice of Kramer Levin and FTI Consulting, the Committee's financial advisor, spearheaded an extensive investigation into numerous inter company and inter debtor claims and co-sponsored the Chapter 11 plan. Confirmation of the plan consensually resolved all the claims and brought about a successful conclusion of NII's bankruptcy case after only nine months. The plan provides for a substantial deleveraging of NII's balance sheet by converting $4.35 billion in unsecured bond debt into equity of the reorganized company with the general unsecured creditors receiving cash distributions. Despite overwhelming support from the creditors, the plan faced opposition by a minority bondholder group, which was ultimately overruled by the bankruptcy court after months of discovery and a nine-day trial. The confirmed Chapter 11 Plan became effective and the Debtors emerged from bankruptcy on June 26, 2015.