Kenneth H. Eckstein has played a prominent role in many of the headline-making Chapter 11 reorganizations of the past 35 years, including, most recently, three large, complex restructurings of the pharmaceutical companies at the heart of the opioid crisis, as well as the bankruptcies of household names in the consumer products, automotive, media and entertainment, financial services, telecommunications, energy, and airline industries. He represents creditors’ committees, bondholders and other stakeholders in both in- and out-of-court restructurings as well as trustees, examiners and third parties seeking to acquire the assets or businesses of financially troubled companies. Ken also counsels and represents debtors and boards of directors in the complex legal, financial and operational issues arising in reorganizations, including obtaining debtor-in-possession financing; negotiating forbearance agreements; negotiating plans of reorganization with secured lenders, creditors’ committees and other stakeholders; and conducting sales of businesses. A fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy, Ken is one of the preeminent bankruptcy practitioners in both New York and the United States.
Ken’s recent work on behalf of creditors includes leading the representation of the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the bankruptcy cases of Endo International PLC, one of the country’s largest pharmaceutical companies and a major defendant in opioid litigation, involving numerous cutting-edge litigations, lien challenges and issues related to mass tort cases. He is also leading the representation of the Ad Hoc Committee in the Purdue Pharma and Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals restructurings, both of which are sprawling, complex mass tort bankruptcy cases involving committees that include governmental entities and the plaintiffs’ executive committees in multidistrict tort litigation. He also led the representation of the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the recent bankruptcy cases of Toys R Us Inc. and certain of its subsidiaries. Ken’s other notable creditor-side representations include the ad hoc group of first lien bondholders holding more than $4 billion in bonds issued by Caesars Entertainment Operating Co. in connection with the company’s restructuring; funds managed by Elliott Management, Aurelius Capital, Davidson Kempner and Bracebridge Capital in the settlement of their 15-year dispute with the Republic of Argentina; the ad hoc group of senior noteholders holding more than $1.6 billion of unsecured notes issued by Peabody Energy Corp., the world’s largest private-sector coal company, in connection with its bankruptcy; the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of Residential Capital LLC in the largest bankruptcy of 2012; and the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the bankruptcy of NII Holdings Inc., one of the largest Chapter 11 cases of 2014.
His debtor work includes representing Genco Shipping & Trading in the $1.4 billion shipping company restructuring that required negotiating with more than 25 sophisticated financial investors and resulted in a true “prepackaged” Chapter 11 bankruptcy that was confirmed in less than three months; and representing General Maritime in structuring a $75 million debtor-in-possession facility and negotiating a restructuring that enabled the shipping company to emerge from bankruptcy, after eliminating approximately $600 million of financial debt and $42 million in annual interest expenses.
Updated Aug 2024
