In re Energy Future Holdings Corp.

575 B.R. 616
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, D. Delaware
DecidedOctober 3, 2017
DocketCase No.: 14-10979 (CSS) (Jointly Administered); Docket Nos.: 9584, 11636
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 575 B.R. 616 (In re Energy Future Holdings Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, D. Delaware primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Energy Future Holdings Corp., 575 B.R. 616 (Del. 2017).

Opinion

OPINION

Sontchi, J.

INTRODUCTION

Before the Court is a motion for reconsideration of an order approving, among other things, a Termination Fee1 in the amount of $275 million. The Court is taking the extraordinary step of reconsidering its order entered over one year ago because its approval of the Termination Fee was based upon a fundamental misapprehension of critical facts. The Court’s misunderstanding was based upon imprecise and incorrect testimony by the Debtors’ witness, incomplete responses by Debtors’ counsel to questions by the Court and conspicuous and unhelpful silence by the beneficiary of the Termination Fee, Next-Era. However, the ultimate responsibility for the Court’s mistake lies with the Court itself. The Court simply missed the critical nuance between when the Termination Fee would be payable and when it would not be.

In any event, had the Court properly understood the facts it would not have approved the payment of the Termination Fee under the present circumstances nor could it. Viewed at the time the Termination Fee was approved, the fee did not satisfy the O’Brien standard for payment of such fees because there could not be any actual benefit to the Debtors’ estate by payment of the fee. That has been borne out by the actual circumstances at present. Indeed, payment of the Termination Fee at this time would be extremely harmful to the Debtors’ estates.

The Court’s misapprehension of the facts led to an incorrect application of the legal standard. In short, the Court made a manifest error of fact and law. As such, the Court must take the extraordinary step, which it does not do lightly, of reconsidering an order it entered over a year ago and upon which parties have relied.

JURISDICTION

The Court has subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 157 and 1334. Venue in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware is proper pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1408 and 1409. This is a core proceeding pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2)(A), (B), (N), and (O). The Court has the judicial power to enter a final order.

STATEMENT OF FACTS2

Even a concise history of this 3½ year old Chapter 11 case would take hundreds [621]*621of pages. Thankfully, the issue before the Court is quite narrow and the relevant facts can be set forth with some brevity.

In April 2016, after an extensive and strategic marketing process and various other efforts, the Debtors engaged in discussions with NextEra Energy, Inc. (“NextEra”) for the sale of the Debtors’ economic interest in Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC (“Oncor”).

On July 29, 2016, certain of the Debtors, NextEra, and EFH Merger Co., LLC (“Merger Sub”)—a newly formed subsidiary of NextEra—executed definitive documentation to govern this transaction, including an Agreement and Plan of Merger among Energy Future Holdings Corp. (“EFH”), Energy Future Intermediate Holding Company LLC (“EFIH”), Next-Era, and Merger Sub, dated July 29, 2016 (the “Merger Agreement”). The Merger Agreement, as amended, contemplated a merger of EFH with and into Merger Sub, whereby EFH would have become a wholly-owned subsidiary of NextEra with an approximately $18.7 billion implied Oncor total enterprise value. Included in the Merger Agreement was a “Termination Fee” in the amount of $275 million in favor of NextEra (the “Termination Fee”).

Also on July 29, 2016, EFH, -EFIH, EFIH Finance Inc., certain direct and indirect subsidiaries of EFH, and NextEra entered into a Plan Support Agreement (as modified, amended or supplemented from time to time, the “Plan Support Agreement”) in support of the Amended Joint Plan of Reorganization of Energy Future Holdings Corp. et al, pursuant to Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code, as modified and filed with the Bankruptcy Court on August 5, 2016 [D.I. 9199] (as modified, amended or supplemented from time to time, the “E-Side Plan”). By motion dated August 3, 2016 (the “Approval Motion”), the Debtors sought approval of their entry into the Plan Support Agreement and the Merger Agreement (collectively, the “NextEra Transaction”).3

Through the Approval Motion, the Debtors sought approval of the Merger Agreement, including the Termination Fee. The Debtors supported the Approval Motion with declarations by two members of the Debtors’ advisory team, William Hiltz and David Ying.4 The supporting declarations included one identical statement as to when Termination Fee would be payable— “Upon Court approval of the Merger Agreement, EFH Corp. and EFIH are liable for the Termination Fee, in the amount of $275 million, as an allowed administrative expense claim, in the event of termination of the Merger Agreement.”5 The Approval Motion repeated the above statement contained in the declarations and included two additional sentences:

The Termination Fee is not payable in the event of, among other things, certain terminations resulting from breaches by NextEra or Merger Subsidiary or fol-. lowing a termination by NextEra at the [622]*622Termination Date (as defined in the Merger Agreement) where PUCT approval is the only closing condition not satisfied.
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If the Debtors terminate the Merger Agreement following entry of the Approval Order order to accept another proposal, and the transaction contemplated by such other proposal is consummated, the Debtors would owe the $275 million Termination Fee.6

Several creditors objected to the Approval Motion, including Fidelity Management & Research Company; the Estate of George Fenicle, David William Fahy, and John H. Jones (the “Asbestos Objectors”); American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC, as successor trustee to The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A. (in such capacity, the “EFH Indenture Trustee”); and Contrarian Capital Management, LLC, which joined in the briefs of the EFH Indenture Trustee.7 None of these objections nor the Debtors’ reply8 focused the Court on a critical fact: the Merger Agreement did not set a date by which approval by the Public Utility Commission of Texas (“PUCT”) had to be obtained. Consequently, no party alerted the Court to what is now alleged by movants: that if the PUGT did not approve the NextEra Transaction, the Debtors could eventually be required to terminate the Merger Agreement and trigger the Termination Fee unless NextEra terminated first of its own volition.

By the time of the hearing on September 19, 2016, all of the objecting creditors, except the Asbestos Objectors, had withdrawn their objections. Although the Asbestos Objectors pressed their objection to the Termination Fee, they focused primarily on the argument that the Termination Fee violated due process.9

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Bluebook (online)
575 B.R. 616, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-energy-future-holdings-corp-deb-2017.