Companies with excessive debts and dwindling profits may benefit from filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. We can use a recent and local example to further discuss how businesses use Chapter 11 bankruptcy to restructure debts and keep their doors open. Peabody Energy, a St. Louis-based coal company, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy amid a global slump in the energy industry. According to Peabody Energy, the company has faced competition from the fracking industry, lower demand overseas and tough domestic regulations. These poor circumstances have contributed to Peabody Energy piling on $10.1 billion in debt, despite only having $10.9 billion in assets. Peabody Energy’s bankruptcy is not the first for the coal industry, but it is the largest coal company to file. In the last two years, several other coal companies have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Companies such as Arch Coal, Alpha Natural Resources and Xinergy Ltd. have all…
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