PetroQuest Energy – Court Grants Authority for $50 million in Exit Financing

November 15, 2018 – The Court hearing the PetroQuest Energy case authorized the Debtors (i) to assume the $50,000,000 Exit Facility Commitment Letter, dated as of November 6, 2018 and (ii) pay related fees and expenses (the “Commitment Expenses”) [Docket No. 124]. AS previously reported [Docket No.17], “On November 6, 2018, as contemplated by the Restructuring Support Agreement, the Debtors entered into the Commitment Letter with the Commitment Parties (as defined in the Commitment Letter). In the Commitment Letter, the Commitment Parties have agreed to backstop the entire $50,000,000 of the Exit Facility (the ‘Commitments’), subject to implementation of a subscription process as part of the Debtors’ chapter 11 plan of reorganization. On the Effective Date, the Debtors will use the proceeds of the Exit Facility to repay their obligations to the Prepetition Term Loan Lenders.

 
 In consideration for the agreement to provide the Commitments, the Debtors have agreed to pay the Commitment Parties a put option premium equal to 3.00% of the principal amount of the Exit Facility in the form of New Equity, which New Equity shall be valued in accordance with the plan (the ‘Put Option Premium’). In light of the amount of the Exit Facility and the percentage of the Put Option Premium of the amount thereof, the Debtors believe that the Put Option Premium is within the range of similar premiums or commitment fees, if not lower than such range…. The funding of the Exit Facility can only be assured by obtaining the commitment of the Commitment Parties to backstop the Exit Facility through assumption of the Commitment Letter.”