Acosta Inc. said it emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy Jan. 2 with a new ownership group consisting of several fund management companies.
The Jacksonville-based sales and marketing company filed a prepackaged reorganization plan Dec. 1 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.
The plan, which was approved by its major creditors in advance of the filing, called for Acosta to issue equity in exchange for about $3 billion in debt.
Acosta said Thursday its new shareholders include funds associated with Elliott Management, Oaktree Capital Management, L.P., Davidson Kempner and Nexus Capital Management.
Court documents indicate New York-based Elliott is the largest shareholder. The documents say Elliott will be appointing five of Acosta’s 11-member board of directors as long as it continues to hold at least 30% of the stock.
The Carlyle Group, which bought Acosta for $4.75 billion in 2014 is not mentioned as a shareholder in the documents.
Darian Pickett is continuing as CEO of Acosta and as a member of the board.
Pickett said in a news release Acosta has “the strongest balance sheet in the industry” after the reorganization. Besides eliminating $3 billion in debt, the investment group provided $325 million in new capital.
“We are pleased that we have completed this process as quickly and efficiently as possible,” Pickett said.
