In Re Calpine Corp.

365 B.R. 392, 2007 Bankr. LEXIS 645, 47 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 247, 2007 WL 685595
United States Bankruptcy Court, S.D. New York·Decided March 5, 2007·No. 19-22502·Published·Cited by 7 cases

Opinion

MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER GRANTING, IN PART, DEBTORS’ MOTION FOR AN ORDER (I) AUTHORIZING DEBTORS TO OBTAIN REPLACEMENT POSTPETITION FINANCING TO (A) REFINANCE EXISTING POSTPETITION FINANCING AND (B) REPAY PREPETITION DEBT; (II) ALLOWING DEBTORS’ LIMITED OBJECTION TO CLAIMS; AND (III) DETERMINING VALUE OF SECURED CLAIMS

BURTON R. LIFLAND, Bankruptcy Judge.

The principal issue before the Court, is whether a trust indenture drafting omission relieves the debtors of the obligation to pay “prepayment premiums” or similar “make-whole” damages upon repayment in full of principal and accrued interest short of the original maturity dates.

Calpine Corporation and its affiliated debtors and debtors-in-possession, (the “Debtors”) move for an order (I) authorizing the Debtors to obtain replacement postpetition financing to (a) refinance existing postpetition financing and (b) repay prepetition debt; (II) allowing Debtors’ limited objection to claims; and (III) determining value of secured claims (the “Refinancing Motion”).

Manufacturers & Traders Trust Company (“M & T”), Beal Bank Nevada (“Beal”), Wilmington Trust FSB, as Indenture Trustee (the “WT Trustee”), Wilmington Trust Company, as Collateral Agent (the “Collateral Agent”), Wilmington Trust Company, as Administrative Agent (“WTC”), HSBC Bank USA, National Association, as Indenture Trustee (“HSBC”), Bank of New York, as Administrative Agent (“BNY”), and collectively with M & T, Beal, the WT Trustee, the Collateral Agent, WTC, and HSBC (the “CalGen Secured Lenders”) object to the Refinancing Motion. 1

Background

On December 20, 2005 (the “Petition Date”), the Debtors, scheduling between $18 and $22 billion in debt, filed voluntary petitions for relief under chapter 11 of title 11 of the United States Code (the “Bankruptcy Code”). The Debtors and certain non-debtor affiliates (the “Company”) are involved in the development, construction, ownership and operation of power generation facilities and the sale of electricity and its by-product, thermal energy, primarily in the form of steam, predominantly in North America. The Company operates the largest fleet of natural gas-fired power plants in North America and has ownership interests in, and operates, gas-fired power generation and cogeneration facilities, pipelines, geothermal steam fields and geothermal power generation facilities. The Company owns, leases and operates power plants throughout the United States and Canada. The Company markets elec *395 tricity produced by its generating facilities to utilities and other third party purchasers while thermal energy produced by the gas-fired power cogeneration facilities is sold primarily to industrial users. The Company offers to third parties energy procurement, liquidation and risk management services, combustion turbine component parts, engineering and repair and maintenance services. The Company is a highly integrated, interdependent set of businesses that work together on a fleet-wide basis.

Prior to the Petition Date, on March 23, 2004, Calpine Generating Company, LLC (“CalGen”), one of the Debtors’ largest operating subsidiaries, issued $2.605 billion of secured debt through a series of first, second, and third-lien financings (“CalGen Secured Debt”). 2 Approximately $2.516 billion of CalGen Secured Debt is currently outstanding, on which the weighted average interest rate is 11.25%. CalGen, as a member of the Calpine corporate group, receives most of its revenues from Calpine affiliates and most of its corporate functions such as accounting, legal and information technology are provided by Calpine affiliates. Calpine Operating Services Company, Inc., a Calpine subsidiary and a Debtor, acts as the primary operator for CalGen’s plants. Calpine Energy Ser *396 vices, L.P. (“CES”), a Calpine subsidiary and a Debtor, is CalGen’s primary customer. CES purchases the majority of the electricity produced by CalGen’s facilities and supplies the majority of gas needed to operate those facilities.

On the Petition Date, the Debtors filed an emergency motion seeking authorization to obtain postpetition financing and obtained an order authorizing the Debtors to obtain secured postpetition financing up to the aggregate principal amount of $2 billion (the “Existing DIP Facility”). The Existing DIP Facility 3 is set to expire at the earliest of: (a) December 20, 2007,

(b) the effective date of a plan or reorganization pursuant to a confirmation order of the Court, or (c) the acceleration of the loans in accordance with the Existing DIP Credit Agreement.

On February 26, 2006, this Court entered an order (the “Cash Collateral Order”), providing that the Debtors shall pay to the CalGen Lenders, as adequate protection, all accrued but unpaid interest and fees at the non-default contract rates on either a quarterly or semi-annual basis, and the reasonable fees and expenses of the CalGen Lenders’ counsel and other consultants.

The Refinancing

Pursuant to the Refinancing Motion, the Debtors seek to obtain replacement debt- or-in-possession financing up to the aggregate principal amount of $5.0 billion (the “Replacement DIP Facility”) to refinance the Debtors’ Existing DIP Facility and to repay approximately $2,516 billion of the CalGen Secured Debt. The proposed refinancing will replace higher interest-rate debt with lower interest-rate debt, saving the Debtors approximately $100 million annually, including approximately $92 million of interest rate savings attributable to repayment of the CalGen Secured Debt. 4 Through the proposed refinancing, the Debtors also expect to realize an additional $5 million in annual savings by no longer having to pay certain fees as adequate protection for the CalGen Secured Debt. The Proposed Refinancing will provide the Debtors with greater liquidity, a simplified capital structure and enable the Debtors to grant security in respect of hedging obligations in the commodity market. 5 The Proposed Refinancing also extends the maturity date should a Plan of Reorganization not be approved before the end of 2007 and can be converted to exit financing if the Debtors so chose. The Creditors’ Committee, the Equity Committee and the Second Lien Committee strongly support the Refinancing Motion.

Objections

The objections raised by the CalGen Secured Lenders are mainly premised on whether the terms of their agreements prohibit the Debtors from prepaying (i.e., no-call provisions) and/or provide the Lenders with the right to seek a prepayment premium or “make-whole” damages *397 upon the Debtors’ repayment of the Cal-Gen Secured Debt following acceleration of such debt caused by the occurrence of an Event of Default under the governing documents or by operation of law. It should be noted that the Secured Debt is now matured by the occurrence of an Event of Default, i.e., the filing of the chapter 11 petitions.

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In Re Calpine Corp., 365 B.R. 392, 2007 Bankr. LEXIS 645, 47 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 247, 2007 WL 685595 (N.Y. 2007).

365 B.R. 392 (In Re Calpine Corp.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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