EP Energy and Its $5 Billion Debt Pile Are Adrift in Bankruptcy

Just two weeks ago, EP Energy Corp. had in hand a court order allowing it to slash billions of dollars in debt from its balance sheet. Now, the order is moot, and the company is back to square one on its reorganization.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Marvin Isgur on Monday nullified his earlier approval of the company’s bankruptcy plan in light of “the extreme circumstances faced by the country” and plummeting oil prices, he said at a hearing in Houston. His decision made official an earlier agreement between EP Energy and its would-be owners -- Apollo Global Management Inc. and Elliott ...