Lauren Knight

Lauren Knight is a member of the firm’s Business Restructuring Group. She represents debtors, lenders, and other stakeholders in complex Chapter 11 reorganizations and out-of-court restructurings.

Lauren’s experience includes work on the Chapter 11 restructuring of a leading dining and sports entertainment company involving approximately $380 million of funded debt in a novel whole business securitization structure and in prearranged Chapter 11 cases of a leading contract manufacturer and producer of convenience foods involving approximately $3 billion of funded debt. She also advised on an out-of-court restructuring in which more than $1 billion of senior and junior debt was converted into equity alongside $100 million in new capital for a major third-party hotel management company.

*Licensed in Illinois only and not admitted to practice in New York. Supervised by principals of the firm who are admitted to the New York bar.

• Represented Inotiv, Inc. a leading contract research organization supporting nonclinical and analytical drug discovery in their prepackaged chapter 11 cases involving approximately $490 million of funded debt. Inotiv’s chapter 11 plan achieved broad support across the Debtor’s capital structure and eliminated approximately $325 million in prepetition funded debt.
• Represented Hooters of America, LLC, an iconic casual dining and sports entertainment chain, and its affiliated debtors in their pending chapter 11 cases involving the restructuring of approximately $380 million of funded debt. Hooters’ chapter 11 cases are the first whole business securitization filings of their kind and are supported by $40 million of debtor-in-possession financing and a Restructuring Support Agreement with near unanimous support from its key stakeholders.
• Represented Hearthside Foods and its affiliated debtors in their prearranged chapter 11 cases involving approximately $3.0 billion of funded debt. A leading contract manufacturer and producer of convenience foods. Hearthside’s prearranged chapter 11 plan eliminated approximately $2 billion of funded debt and provided $200 million of new money through an Equity Rights Offering and approximately $190 million of additional capital from a new asset backed loan facility. Hearthside emerged from chapter 11 with approximately $600 million of liquidity.
• Represented Aimbridge Hospitality in connection with a comprehensive out-of-court restructuring supported by 100% of the company’s lenders that successfully converted more than $1 billion of senior and junior debt into equity and infused the company with $100 million in new capital. Aimbridge is the leading third-party hotel management company, managing over 1,000 hotels globally and employing approximately 47,000 individuals.
• Represented Juice Plus+, a direct-selling health and wellness company that sells concentrated fruit, vegetable, and other whole-food-based supplements, shakes, and bars, in a comprehensive out of court restructuring, which were both supported across the company’s capital structure, included significant new money investment, and collectively reduced the company’s funded debt and other liabilities by over $500 million.
• Represented an ad hoc group of second lien lenders in connection with the chapter 11 cases of Eddie Bauer LLC The plan implemented a restructuring support agreement supported by all of its secured lenders, addressed the company’s $1.7 billion capital structure.