Guilford Mills officially files

By Marvin Lazaro -- Home Textiles Today, 3/18/2002 12:00:00 AM

GREENSBORO, NC —

Guilford Mills formally filed for bankruptcy court protection last week, at the same time stating that it would re-emerge primarily as a manufacturer of automotive fabrics.

The case was filed with the Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan) on March 13. The filing comes a week after receiving approval from its lenders for debt restructuring. The filing was voluntary.

First Union National Bank has agreed to furnish Guilford with up to $30 million in financing during the reorganization, subject to court approval.

Guilford has stated that it hopes to emerge from Chapter 11 by as early as this summer.

According to the petition filed with the court, Guilford has more than $551 million in assets but more than $409 million in debt.

The five largest creditors listed by Guilford are Prudential Capital Group, $99 million; Wachovia Bank, $37 million; First Union Capital Markets and Bank One; $33 million each; and CitiGroup Commercial Services, $19 million.