Next Week in Bankruptcy

Coal giant Peabody Energy Corp. will make its second bankruptcy-court appearance next week, requesting full and final access to $800 million in bankruptcy financing.

The company will appear before Judge Barry S. Schermer of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in St. Louis on Thursday to request the permission. Judge Schermer granted preliminary access to the financing package arranged by Citigroup two weeks ago.

At the time, the judge said he didn’t believe Peabody’s need for the financing was disputed. During the interim period, Peabody has had access to $200 million of a $500 million term loan, a $100 million letter-of-credit facility and a $200 million facility available to satisfy the company’s environmental obligations.

Lenders of the financing package include Peabody’s existing secured lenders and the holders of Peabody’s unsecured bond debt–distressed investors Centerbridge Partners LP, Aurelius Capital Management LP, Elliott Management Corp. and Capital Research and Management.

Peabody Energy Corp. is the largest U.S. coal company and became the latest to file for bankruptcy earlier this month. It joined peers Arch Coal Inc., Alpha Natural Resources, Inc., Patriot Coal Corp. and Walter Energy, Inc., all of whom have also sought chapter 11 protection.

In Houston on Thursday, Energy XXI Ltd. will make its second bankruptcy-court appearance. During the hearing, the oil and gas producer will request access to cash that secures its debt. The company hasn’t lined up new bankruptcy financing.

The company filed for bankruptcy earlier this month after securing key creditors’ support for a deal that would be the backbone of a broader debt-restructuring plan. Senior lenders and a group of junior bondholders said they were still in negotiations regarding what happens to some of Energy XXI’s debt in the restructuring.

The deal in place calls for Energy XXI’s junior bondholders to swap $1.45 billion debt for all of the equity in a reorganized company subsidiary. It requires the company to file a full plan of reorganization by May 16 in order to secure a judge’s approval by Aug. 8.

Finally, surfwear retailer Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. will head to court on Tuesday to ask for final approval of its bankruptcy financing.

Judge Laurie Silverstein of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., approved Pacific Sunwear’s access to $62.5 million of the $100 million loan in the days following the company’s April bankruptcy filing. The loan is from existing lenders led by Wells Fargo NA.

Pacific Sunwear plans to use the bankruptcy loan to refinance its existing $41.7 million loan in full, as well as to keep the retailer’s doors open through the chapter 11 process and pay professional fees related to the proceedings. It also owes about $88 million under a separate loan from private-equity firm Golden Gate Capital, which plans to take control of the retailer upon its exit from chapter 11.

Pacific Sunwear, of Anaheim, Calif., filed for chapter 11 protection on April 7, blaming the majority of its woes on many costly leases at malls across the U.S., where traffic has dwindled in recent years. The retailer’s approximately $60 million in unsecured debt includes claims for unpaid rent and leases, according to court papers.

-Lillian Rizzo, Jacqueline Palank and Peg Brickley contributed to this article.

Write to Stephanie Gleason at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @stephgleason