27 Automotive Suppliers File Chapter 11 Bankruptcies in 2009; End of Year Status Summary; Likelihood of Bankruptcy Preference Recovery

Pressures in the global automotive industry forced 27 FN1 automotive parts and component manufacturers and 2 automakers to seek Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2009.  The number of filings is only the headline of the story.  While estimated trade creditor distributions on prepetition claims swung the spectrum of 100% to 0%, estimated recoveries of less than 2 percent predominate.  And more trade creditor pain looms in several bankruptcies, as bankruptcy preference action recoveries are either included in liquidation budgets, are necessary to avoid administrative insolvency or are likely to be sought by plan administrators and liquidation trustees.

This article provides a comprehensive list of the 27 automotive supplier Chapter 11 bankruptcies in 2009, together with status at the end of 2009, estimated trade creditor recoveries and the potential for avoidance actions.

Metaldyne Bankruptcy – A Dismal Picture for Suppliers

A bleak picture emerges for bankruptcy creditors in this bankruptcy of a top 50 Tier 1 automotive supplier.  Metaldyne Corporation and 30 subsidiaries (collectively referred to as “Metaldyne”) entered bankruptcy with between $60 million and $65 million in outstanding trade payables. A total of $36 million is due to suppliers on the 50 largest unsecured list. That means that smaller suppliers are going to take almost half of the potential loss.

Metaldyne Bankruptcy – Largest Unsecured Bankruptcy Creditors

Metaldyne requested and was granted authority to file a consolidated list of the 50 largest unsecured creditors of the Metaydyne Corporation and its 30 affiliated Debtors (the “Top Unsecured Creditor List”) in lieu of a separate list for each of the Debtors. The amounts owed to each of the unsecured suppliers is listed as trade debt. We are seeing several very familiar automotive parts supplier names on this list. We are also seeing some of the listed debt to automotive parts suppliers as “disputed.” This is probably an indication of a claim of set off.

Metaldyne Bankruptcy – 31 Debtors and Petitions

Metaldyne Corporation and 30 affiliated entities (”Debtors”) filed a petitions in Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York for relief under chapter 11 of title 11 of the United States Code. Contemporaneously with the filing of their petitions, the Debtors filed a motion requesting that the Court consolidate their chapter 11 cases for administrative purposes only under the Metaldyne Corporation case number 09-13412. The following are the names, case numbers and copies (as available ) of the bankruptcy petitions.

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