Chapter 11 bankruptcy: Winn-Dixie creditors pushed out

The only court-sanctioned committee representing shareholders in the Winn-Dixie Chapter 11 restructuring has been disbanded by a US Justice Department official at the request of a group of unsecured creditors. This leaves shareholders without any official representation in the reorganization plans of the chain-store group.

Although it is normal under Chapter 11 proceedings for shareholders to get a share of company’s assets only after the claims of a company’s creditors have been satisfied, the Winn-Dixie case sets a precedent that could be detrimental to equity investors more generally in the US.

The shareholder panel was disbanded in mid-January by Elena Escamilla, from the Justice Department’s Office of the US Trustee, leaving the official committee of unsecured creditors as the only court-authorized group involved in the Chapter 11 discussions.

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