BackExide Technologies files for chapter 11 bankruptcy
The battery maker is seeking court-directed reorganization after Wal-Mart‘s decision in 2010 to switch suppliers
Premium(Exide also blamed the economic slowdown in Europe, where it gets more than half its annual revenue, for hurting profit. )
Sydney: Exide Technologies, a battery producer with operations in more than 80 countries and about 3,600 employees, sought bankruptcy after losing business to competitors.
Exide cited debts of $1.1 billion and assets of $1.9 billion in its Chapter 11 filing in US Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware. Outside the US, the filing will not affect obligations to employees and suppliers and applies only to the Milton, Georgia-based parent.
The battery maker is seeking court-directed reorganization after Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s decision in 2010 to switch to Johnson Controls Inc. to supply transportation batteries, Phillip Damaska, Exide chief financial officer, said in the filing. The loss of Wal-Mart as a customer reduced annual revenue by about $160 million, he said.
Exide also blamed the economic slowdown in Europe, where it gets more than half its annual revenue, for hurting profit.
The company has $31 million in interest payments due in August and $51.9 million of convertible notes are due to mature in September, Damaska said. BLOOMBERG
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