Erickson Says Bankruptcy Court Approves Interim DIP Financing

(RTTNews) - Aviation services provider Erickson Inc. (EAC), which on Tuesday filed voluntary petitions for relief under Chapter 11, announced Friday that United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas has approved key first day motions related to its voluntary Chapter 11 restructuring.

The motions granted by the Court allow Erickson to fulfill current key customer contracts, pay employee wages, honor existing employee benefit programs, pay certain suppliers and foreign creditors, and will ensure that the Company continues normal business operations throughout the financial restructuring process.

The Court has authorized Erickson to immediately access up to $49 million of its $66 million debtor-in-possession term financing. This financing, along with the Company's approved DIP Revolver Financing, will provide sufficient liquidity to fund ongoing operations in the ordinary course of business. It will maintain Erickson's longstanding commitment to safety, compliance, and customer service.

At the first day hearing in the Erickson Chapter 11 cases, Judge Harlin Hale granted all of the Company's requested first day relief.

The Company said it expects to file a consensual plan of reorganization with the support of its major creditor constituencies within the first 50 days of the bankruptcy case, which the Company anticipates will dramatically reduce its total indebtedness and allow it to exit bankruptcy with a stronger balance sheet in 2017.

The Chapter 11 cases are being jointly administered under Case No. 16-34393 before the Honorable Judge Harlin D. Hale in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas.