Chassix Holdings Inc. gained a U.S. Bankruptcy Court’s approval for its restructuring and recapitalization plan. The Southfield, MI-based foundry holding company made its Chapter 11 filing in mid-March, noting then that its pre-packaged reorganization had approval from 80% of the unsecured bondholders and 71.5% of the senior secured bondholders, its existing sponsor, and all of its largest customers.
Chassix is expected to emerge from bankruptcy within the next several weeks.
The core element of the plan is a debt-for-equity swap that will reduce Chassix’ outstanding bond debt and debt payment obligations to a substantial degree, and provide access to $45 million of new capital.
The group’s CEO said the plant would help to reestablish Chassix as a “robust, well-capitalized automotive supplier.”
Chassix was formed in 2013 by Platinum Equity LLC, which merged its Diversified Machine Inc. and SMW Automotive LLC holdings into a casting and machining operation that now has 23 plants in the U.S., Brazil, China, France, Mexico, and Spain.
The operations cast ductile iron and aluminum, with a range of casting processes in use (e.g., PCPC, VRC, tilt pouring, squeeze casting, and green sand casting), and machining and assembly capabilities. Its cast products include numerous automotive chassis, brake, and powertrain parts,
Among Chassix’ customers are General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co., FCA US LLC (the former Chrysler Group), Nissan North America and BMW AG, according to the bankruptcy court records.
According to Chassix CEO Mark Allan, the court’s approval of the plan “brings us closer to financial health as we simultaneously work to implement operational improvements that will enhance production, improve cash flows and better position us to support the significant demand for our products.”