WL Ross acquisition appears on Horizon after bid ramped up

摘要

WL Ross & Co., the leader of a group of four investors attempting to take control of bankrupt Horizon Natural Resources, has significantly upped its bid for the company's assets, a move that appears to have cleared the way for an almost certain acquisition. In the meantime, the United States Bankruptcy Court has approved procedures for soliciting competing bids and conducting an auction for the sale of a substantial portion of Horizon's assets in connection with its proposed Chapter 11 reorganization plan, the company said. WL Ross has raised its bid for Horizon to 277,350,000 dollars from 240,000,000 dollars. As a result, Deutsche Bank, the unsecured creditors committee and other creditors have withdrawn earlier objections and supported the designation of the Ross Group as the preferred bidder. The Ross Group has been designated the stalking horse bidder by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court and therefore would be entitled to a breakup fee of 7.2 million dollars if another bidder prevails at the auction scheduled for August 17.