July 14, 2007
On July 6, it was announced that bankrupt auto parts manufacturer Dana Corporation has reached crucial agreements with its two biggest unions, United Steel Workers and United Auto Workers, with respect to a $750 million investment in the company led by Willkie client Centerbridge Capital Partners L.P. The agreements also cover support for Dana’s reorganization plan, and provides a means for lowering Dana’s labor costs and replacing its health care and long-term disability obligations for retirees. Under the investment deal, Centerbridge will invest up to $500 million in cash for convertible preferred stock in the reorganized Dana and facilitate an additional investment by other investors of up to $250 million in convertible preferred stock. The agreements are expected to substantially reduce the company's operating costs and provide important momentum toward its emergence from bankruptcy. Dana is a world leader in the supply of axles, driveshafts, management products (structural, sealing, and thermal), as well as genuine service parts. Based in Toledo, Ohio, the company, with reported 2006 sales of $8.5 billion, employs about 35,000 people in 28 countries. The transaction was handled by partners, Jeffrey Poss, Henry Cohen, Donald Elliott, Brian O'Conner and Matthew Feldman; special counsel Peter Allman, Jonathan Konoff, Lawrence Plotkin and Kim Walker; and associates Peter Agnetti, Lauren Cohen, Bret Cohen, Lisa, Eskenazi, Paul Horan, Morris Massel, Hillel Jacobson, Fara Sunderji, Jason Ertel, Katherine Pantazis Schroeder, Jeffrey Letalien and Debra Sapp.
