LyondellBasell Industries today announced that LyondellBasell Industries AF S.C.A. has been voluntarily added to Lyondell Chemical Company's reorganization filing under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code to protect the European holding company against claims by certain financial and U.S. trade creditors.
LyondellBasell Industries AF S.C.A. is a holding company incorporated in Luxembourg. It does not manufacture or sell products, and has no employees.
LyondellBasell is exercising an option available under U.S. law to prevent creditors from enforcing guarantees by LyondellBasell AF S.C.A. for pre-petition obligations of LyondellBasell's U.S. businesses. It also prevents bondholders of Senior Notes due in 2015 from potentially pursuing remedies against LyondellBasell AF S.C.A. after an interest payment due on the notes in February was not paid. The company obtained a 60-day restraining order from the U.S. bankruptcy court in February to allow time for LyondellBasell to protect its European assets from these claims.
Extending Chapter 11 protection to LyondellBasell Industries AF S.C.A. is not an insolvency proceeding under any European law. No LyondellBasell manufacturing operation located outside of the United States has applied for or become involved in insolvency or bankruptcy proceedings in its respective home country.
LyondellBasell continues to conduct business worldwide while the company develops its reorganization plan as part of the Chapter 11 process, said Ed Dineen, LyondellBasell's Chief Operating Officer. All LyondellBasell companies remain committed to maintaining mutually beneficial relationships with suppliers and to serving customers as they did before this voluntary action.
LyondellBasell's U.S. operations and a holding company in Germany voluntarily filed to reorganize under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code on Jan. 6 in order to facilitate a restructuring of the company's debts. Lyondell Chemical Company is one of the 79 LyondellBasell affiliates included in the original filing. LyondellBasell has obtained approximately $8 billion in debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing to fund continuing operations. The DIP financing includes two credit agreements: a $6.5 billion term loan (comprising $3.25 billion in new loans and a $3.25 billion roll-up of existing loans) and a $1.57 billion asset-backed lending facility. A complete listing of the filing entities and other information related to the Chapter 11 cases can be found through a link at the company's Web site, www.lyondellbasell.com.
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