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Looked like it was a close call yesterday, but Aloha finally has some interim financing.
Posted on: Friday, March 25, 2005
Aloha loan OK'd for interim
By Dan Nakaso
Advertiser Staff Writer
A U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge last night gave interim approval for a loan to Aloha Airlines worth up to $65 million after his initial concerns about the financing plan were addressed.
Aloha, which filed for bankruptcy protection on Dec. 30, had a signed agreement with a joint venture involving Goldman Sachs Credit Partners LP, a unit of Goldman, Sachs & Co., and Park Avenue-based Ableco Finance LLC, to each provide $32.5 million.
Judge Lloyd King — sitting in for Judge Robert Faris, who usually presides over Aloha's bankruptcy proceedings — initially said he had particular concerns about three terms of the loan, some of which King characterized as "very aggressive" and highly unusual for a bankruptcy case.
In an afternoon hearing, King said his concerns prevented him from approving the loan. Later in the evening, the parties involved in the case returned to King's chambers with a revised proposal that King approved on an interim basis, a spokesman for Aloha said.
The interim order runs to April 25, or until a final order is approved by the court, whichever comes first.
"This agreement enables Aloha to meet our financial objectives, which includes paying of our (federal) loan and our commercial bank loans, and provides us with the working capital to implement our financial restructuring and go-forward business plan for a quick exit from bankruptcy," said David Banmiller, Aloha's president and chief executive officer.
King's initial concerns were:
• If Aloha defaulted on the loan, attorneys for the joint venture wanted to automatically foreclose on Aloha's collateral without seeking court approval.
King called the language an "unacceptable provision" because the bankruptcy court has the authority to decide whether the lenders can pursue Aloha's collateral.
• Aloha may be able to reclaim some money it paid to vendors before filing for bankruptcy protection in December. And attorneys for the Goldman Sachs and Ableco joint venture wanted a preferential claim against any money Aloha might collect.
• Goldman Sachs-Ableco also wanted the right to assign their loan to Aloha to someone else and be absolved from any liability. King called that provision "very aggressive" and said he had never seen a financing agreement fall apart because of the absence of such language.
Attorneys for some of the parties said yesterday that they had been working on the deal around the clock for five days because Aloha needed the loan badly.
In court papers, Aloha officials said the money would help pay the salaries of the company's 3,680 employees, among other operating expenses.
Banmiller said employee paychecks would be processed on schedule and passengers would see no change in service while the company awaited the court's ruling.
Reach Dan Nakaso at [email protected] or at 525-8085.
Posted on: Friday, March 25, 2005
Aloha loan OK'd for interim
By Dan Nakaso
Advertiser Staff Writer
A U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge last night gave interim approval for a loan to Aloha Airlines worth up to $65 million after his initial concerns about the financing plan were addressed.
Aloha, which filed for bankruptcy protection on Dec. 30, had a signed agreement with a joint venture involving Goldman Sachs Credit Partners LP, a unit of Goldman, Sachs & Co., and Park Avenue-based Ableco Finance LLC, to each provide $32.5 million.
Judge Lloyd King — sitting in for Judge Robert Faris, who usually presides over Aloha's bankruptcy proceedings — initially said he had particular concerns about three terms of the loan, some of which King characterized as "very aggressive" and highly unusual for a bankruptcy case.
In an afternoon hearing, King said his concerns prevented him from approving the loan. Later in the evening, the parties involved in the case returned to King's chambers with a revised proposal that King approved on an interim basis, a spokesman for Aloha said.
The interim order runs to April 25, or until a final order is approved by the court, whichever comes first.
"This agreement enables Aloha to meet our financial objectives, which includes paying of our (federal) loan and our commercial bank loans, and provides us with the working capital to implement our financial restructuring and go-forward business plan for a quick exit from bankruptcy," said David Banmiller, Aloha's president and chief executive officer.
King's initial concerns were:
• If Aloha defaulted on the loan, attorneys for the joint venture wanted to automatically foreclose on Aloha's collateral without seeking court approval.
King called the language an "unacceptable provision" because the bankruptcy court has the authority to decide whether the lenders can pursue Aloha's collateral.
• Aloha may be able to reclaim some money it paid to vendors before filing for bankruptcy protection in December. And attorneys for the Goldman Sachs and Ableco joint venture wanted a preferential claim against any money Aloha might collect.
• Goldman Sachs-Ableco also wanted the right to assign their loan to Aloha to someone else and be absolved from any liability. King called that provision "very aggressive" and said he had never seen a financing agreement fall apart because of the absence of such language.
Attorneys for some of the parties said yesterday that they had been working on the deal around the clock for five days because Aloha needed the loan badly.
In court papers, Aloha officials said the money would help pay the salaries of the company's 3,680 employees, among other operating expenses.
Banmiller said employee paychecks would be processed on schedule and passengers would see no change in service while the company awaited the court's ruling.
Reach Dan Nakaso at [email protected] or at 525-8085.
