In the history of insolvency, there are few companies more distressed than California’s largest utility, Pacific Gas & Electric (PCG:NYSE).
PG&E’s previous bankruptcy in 2001 is still the 11th largest corporate bankruptcy by assets in American history. But it will move down at least one notch as its second bankruptcy displaces Enron for the sixth spot with over $68 billion in assets. Uncertainty abound as shareholders compete with bondholders over the terms of the restructuring, and new wildfires have prompted a public call to bring the company under government control. As the ground continues to shift, one of the biggest variables for how to value PG&E is how much money it will have to pay for property damage, injuries and deaths from wildfires caused by its equipment. Pacific Gas & Electric recently reached a settlement with insurance companies worth $11 billion for its liability in 2018 wildfires that killed 85 people and destroyed thousands of homes. That provides something of a roadmap for the pending litigation to settle, but there is still enough uncertainty for there to be a spread between current prices and the real value of the company’s securities. At the 26th Annual Distressed Investing Conference, four veterans from litigation finance, financial advisory, credit rating and bankruptcy law will present their methodologies in estimating PG&E’s wildfire liabilities.
The panel will be moderated by Edward S. Weisfelner, a partner in Brown Rudnick’s Bankruptcy and Corporate Restructuring practice with 35 years of experience including representing plaintiffs in litigation against General Motors for its ignition switch defect during its 2009 bankruptcy.
These experts will provide an outline for you to value not only the securities of PG&E, but other distressed companies facing complex legal liabilities. Not registered yet?
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