Mall Owner CBL Approved to Exit Bankruptcy Under New Ownership

CBL & Associates Properties won court permission to cut $1 billion in debt, mainly by handing ownership to bondholders.

• U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David R. Jones overruled objections by a handful of preferred shareholders who complained they should be given priority over common shareholders
  • Under the reorganization plan, bondholders get 89% of the new CBL and shareholders 11% when the company exits bankruptcy protection later this year
  • Preferred shareholders and common shareholders will split that 11% stake equally; the preferred shares demanded more
• Jones rejected that complaint, noting that more than 95% of preferred shareholders had already voted to accept the ...