Cooper-Standard Automotive Inc. joined the roster of parts
makers under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Monday, listing debts
of nearly $1.8 billion.
Owned by Goldman Sachs Group (GS) and private equity firm
Cypress Group (CYG.XX), the Novi, Mich., company has been in talks
with lenders about a balance sheet restructuring to get liabilities
in line with conditions in the distressed automotive industry.
Jobs cuts and operational changes designed to streamline the
operation were announced earlier this year, but ratings agency
Standard & Poor's warned the auto parts supplier could be
headed to bankruptcy.
Cooper-Standard's liabilities include $313 million worth of
senior subordinated debt due in 2014, and $200 million worth of
senior notes due in 2012, according to early documents filed in the
U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del. The company has hired the
law firms of Fried, Frank, Harris Shriver & Jacobson and
Richards Layton & Finger.
Financial advisers include Alvarez & Marsal and Lazard
Freres & Co.
-By Peg Brickley, Dow Jones Newswires; 215-462-0953,
peg.brickley@dowjones.com