EXIDE BANKRUPTCY BREAKING NEWS: Court clears Exide to pay $16 million in bankruptcy bonuses
DOW JONES
Court Clears Exide to Pay $16 Million in Bankruptcy Bonuses
By Yogita Patel
Exide Technologies Inc. (XIDEQ) won court approval to pay more than $16 million in bonuses to employees to help ensure the battery maker is able to carry out its restructuring plan.
Judge Kevin J. Carey of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., signed off Tuesday on the three bonuses plans, under which unnamed insiders will get payouts of $16.1 million if targets are reached and 51 noninsiders will get $1.63 million.
The company, which manufactures and recycles lead-acid batteries, has battled with the Environmental Protection Agency and a number of state regulators which want to make sure Exide won’t skirt environmental liabilities through its bankruptcy case.
Exide filed for Chapter 11 protection in June, citing as factors the need to turn to more expensive outside suppliers for lead and the decision by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) to stop buying its products.
The Chapter 11 proceeding is Exide’s second in less than a dozen years. It owes $675 million on senior secured notes and $51.9 million on a convertible notes as well as about $103.5 million in general unsecured debt, according to court papers.
-Peg Brickley contributed to this article.
Write to Yogita Patel at yogita.patel@wsj.com
(Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review covers news about distressed companies and those under bankruptcy protection. Go to http://dbr.dowjones.com)
CLICK HERE TO READ COPY OF COURT ORDER APPROVING INCENTIVE PLANS
NBC 4 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Exide Executives to Receive Millions in Bonuses Despite Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy filings from Exide Technologies show that the company intends to pay out more than $16 million in bonuses to unnamed executives to “boost employee morale.” Meanwhile, the company’s battery recycling plant in Vernon is operating at reduced capacity as state regulators have ordered Exide to reduce the amount of lead emission. Angie Crouch reports from Vernon for NBC4 News at 5 p.m. on Sept. 30, 2013.
Sep 30, 2013
