The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas has entered a final order granting Dallas, Texas-based Dean Foods Co. authority to access the full amount of its $850 million in debtor-in-possession (“DIP”) financing.
The company previously had received interim approval from the court to access up to $475 million of the DIP financing. The court also granted all other relief sought, including providing final approvals for certain other of the company’s “First Day Motions” intended to support the business.
Eric Beringause, president and CEO of Dean Foods, said, “We are pleased to have received final court approval of our DIP credit facility. I can’t thank our employees enough for their continued dedication and hard work, and our suppliers, customers and other partners for their support and patience as we move through this process. We remain focused on providing customers with an uninterrupted supply of high-quality dairy products.”
Dean Foods and all of its wholly-owned subsidiaries filed voluntary petitions for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy code on Nov. 12. Additional information is available on the restructuring page of the company’s website, DeanFoodsRestructuring.com. In addition, court filings and other information related to the proceedings are available on a separate website administered by the company’s claims agent, Epiq Corporate Restructuring LLC, at https://dm.epiq11.com/SouthernFoods, or by calling Epiq representatives toll-free at 1-833-935‐1362 or 1-503-597-7660 for calls originating outside of the U.S.
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP and Norton Rose Fulbright are serving as legal advisors to the company, Evercore is serving as its investment banker, and Alvarez & Marsal is serving as its financial advisor.
Dean Foods is a food and beverage company and the largest processor and direct-to-store distributor of fresh fluid milk and other dairy and dairy case products in the United States. The Dean Foods portfolio includes DairyPure and TruMoo, along with well-known regional dairy brands such as Alta Dena, Berkeley Farms, Country Fresh, Dean’s, Friendly’s, Garelick Farms, Land O Lakes milk and cultured products, Lehigh Valley Dairy Farms, Mayfield, McArthur, Meadow Gold, Oak Farms, PET, T.G. Lee, Tuscan and more. Dean Foods also has a joint venture with Organic Valley, distributing fresh organic products to local retailers. In all, Dean Foods has more than 50 national, regional and local dairy brands as well as private labels. Dean Foods also makes and distributes ice cream, cultured products, juices, teas and bottled water.
