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Transition Board of Woodbridge Group of Companies Announces Investor and Creditor Group Settlement and Implementation of New Leadership StructureWoodbridge Group of Companies, LLC and certain of its affiliates and subsidiaries (together "the Company" or "Woodbridge") announced today that, with the guidance of its experienced transition Board of Managers led by the Honorable James M. Peck, the Honorable Robert E. Gerber, and Jan Baker, it successfully reset the Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases by aligning the interests of major constituencies in a settlement of rigorous litigation. In a matter of days, the Board achieved a settlement in principle with the Creditors Committee, SEC (News - Alert) (subject to Commission approval), and investor groups to establish go-forward governance, a process to bring additional assets under the protection of the bankruptcy cases, and organized fiduciary representation for the investors. "We accomplished our goal. The transition Board volunteered to step into a troubled situation fraught with litigation and moved with an urgent sense of purpose to bring calm and stability to the cases," said Judge Peck, a member of the Board of Managers. "We now believe that Woodbridge is poised to achieve its goals of maximizing asset values and recoveries to investors." "Woodbridge needed a firm, measured, and experienced hand to guide it during transition. Mr. Baker, Judge Peck, and Judge Gerber parachuted in, quickly analyzed the situation, and resolved it," said Samuel A. Newman, partner at Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP and counsel to Woodbridge. "We sincerely thank them for their efforts and look forward to working with the sustainable platform they established." As part of the resolution, the new Board has been appointed and will consist of a highly qualified group of managers: Richard Nevins, M. Freddie Reiss, and Michael Goldberg. "Each manager brings a skillset uniquely qualifying him to guide Woodbridge through a fair and transparent restructuring process," said Judge Gerber. "We feel good about this achievement." "The creditors look forward to working with the new board of managers to map out a path toward maximizing the returns to all the constituents," said Richard Pachulski, partner at Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones LLP and counsel to the creditors committee. "The creditors committee is grateful to retired Judge Gerber, retired Judge Peck, and Mr. Baker and I feel personally indebted to these 3 fine professionals jumping into a highly contentious situation and assisting in resolving the contested matters within 72 hours of their involvement. Contractors, vendors, employees, and investors will all benefit from the stability created by this settlement." Court filings and other information related to the restructuring are available at www.gardencitygroup.com/cases/WGC. Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP and Young, Conaway, Stargatt & Taylor, LLP are serving as legal advisors to Woodbridge. Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones LLP is serving as legal advisors to the Creditors Committee. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180123006621/en/ |
