Creditors want a bigger say in what happens to the nuclear firm,
The Vogtle decision isn’t the only time crunch facing Westinghouse Electric Co.
Westinghouse’s creditors are also looking to wrap up the Cranberrybased nuclear company’s bankruptcy as quickly as possible and — complaining of being shut out — are seeking a more active role in how that gets done.
After Westinghouse asked the bankruptcy court for more time to file its reorganization plan and to extend the exclusive period where no other plans can be presented, the creditors’ committee said it can’t wait.
“What’s the fuss?” the committee said in its objection filed with the court. “Simple. The [committee] needs a plan that maximizes value for its creditor constituency.
“Conversely, [Westinghouse’s] owner, Toshiba, recently disclosed that it needs a quickie deal to recognize tax losses, and [Westinghouse] management has no motivation to maximize value for creditors.”
Toshiba, which is trying to expel Westinghouse from its orbit, announced last month that it’s selling stock in order to pay in full some $6 billion promised to utilities in Georgia and South Carolina for Westinghouse’s overruns.
The payments were supposed to be made in installments over the coming years, but Toshiba wants to have washed its hands of them by the end of its fiscal year in March in order to avail itself of tax benefits.
Westinghouse, in its recent bankruptcy filings, has argued that it’s making good progress despite the complexity of its organization and the $77 billion in claims filed against it.
The company, which has 11,000 employees worldwide and 3,400 in the Pittsburgh region, has been cutting back on space — last week it started marketing up to 315,000 square feet of its Warrendale headquarters for sublease.
It also struck a deal to sell 206 acres of undeveloped land on its Waltz Mill site to Westmoreland County Industrial Development Corp. for $2 million.
Also last week, Westinghouse announced that its nuclear construction division Stone & Webster, which Westinghouse bought in 2015, has “reemerged” as an “industry leader” with a “legacy of project excellence.”
The rebranded division will now focus on non-nuclear projects including fossil fuel and renewable energy, “aircraft engine manufacturers, large processing facilities, artificial joint makers and other[s].”
Westinghouse, in its recent bankruptcy filings, has argued that it’s making good progress despite the complexity of its organization and the $77 billion in claims filed against it.