Dechert Secures Win for Unsecured Creditors in Contentious Chapter 11 Case of Eletson Holdings

Dechert LLP represented the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the Chapter 11 case of Eletson Holdings Inc., an international seaborne transportation company operating one of the world’s largest fleets of medium and long-range product tankers.

In September 2024, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York held a week-long trial to consider three competing restructuring plans. On October 24, the Court issued a 102-page opinion, confirming a creditor-sponsored plan that was supported by Dechert’s client and rejecting a competing plan that was proposed by Eletson and backed by the company’s majority shareholders.

Eletson has now emerged from Chapter 11 protection with new leadership, new financial resources and no debt. The company is now majority owned by Pach Shemen LLC, an affiliate of the global investment firm Murchinson Ltd., which backstopped the Chapter 11 Plan.

The Dechert team representing the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors was led by financial restructuring partners Stephen D. Zide and David A. Herman and included litigation partner Gary J. Mennitt and financial restructuring associates Eric Hilmo, Owen Haney and Karli K. Wade.

About Dechert

Dechert is a global law firm that advises asset managers, financial institutions and corporations on issues critical to managing their business and their capital – from high-stakes litigation to complex transactions and regulatory matters. We answer questions that seem unsolvable, develop deal structures that are new to the market and protect clients’ rights in extreme situations. Our nearly 1,000 lawyers across 20 offices globally focus on the financial services, private equity, private credit, real estate, life sciences and technology sectors.