UPDATE 1-Spansion noteholder group raises $419 mln in rival bid
* Group of convertible noteholders to fund rival reorg plan
* Funding exchange for equity in reorganized co
* Convertible noteholders to pay off co's senior noteholders
April 15 (Reuters) - The ad hoc committee of convertible noteholders of Spansion Inc has raised more than $419 million to fund a rival reorganization plan for the bankrupt flash memory chips maker, court filings showed.
Under the proposed deal, members of the convertible noteholders committee will pay senior noteholders in full, effectively stepping into their shoes, in exchange for common stock in the reorganized company.
Unsecured creditors of Spansion, the noteholders committee and the company's equity committee have now sought to end the Spansion's exclusive right to file a reorganization plan and want the rival plan to be considered for confirmation on a parallel track.
Earlier this month, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Carey in Wilmington, Delaware, refused to confirm Spansion reorganization plan, after creditors complained that incentives that the company proposed to award employees were too generous.
Creditors objecting to Spansion's reorganization plan had contended that the company had not proposed the incentive payouts in good faith.
Spansion was the world's third-largest maker of flash memory chips when it filed for bankruptcy protection in March 2009, after sales fell and credit tightened.
Flash memory is used in such products as digital cameras and DVD players, and lets devices retain data even when power is turned off.
The case is In re: Spansion Inc, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware, No. 09-10690.
(Reporting by Santosh Nadgir in Bangalore; Editing by Ratul Ray Chaudhuri) Keywords: SPANSION/
(santosh.nadgir@thomsonreuters.com; within U.S +1 646 223 8780; Outside U.S +91 80 4135 5800; Reuters messaging: santosh.nadgir.reuters.com@reuters.net)
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