PG&E Approved by Judge for $23B Bankruptcy Financing Package

Power producer PG&E Corp. said on Monday that it won bankruptcy court approval to use up to $23 billion in financing after California Gov. Gavin Newsom dropped his opposition to those financing commitments.

The U.S. bankruptcy court of Northern California will approve a financing motion for $11 billion in debt commitments and $9 billion in new equity that will support PG&E’s turnaround plan, according to a filing.

The company can also raise an additional $3 billion through new shares under the plan, the filing showed.

PG&E last month said it plans to raise up to $25.68 billion by selling securities, as it tries to wriggle its way out of the bankruptcy process and bounce back from the negative publicity after its equipment in California was blamed for the deadly wildfires.

The company, which filed for Chapter 11 protection in January last year, faced opposition from the governor for its restructuring plan.

Last month, PG&E submitted an updated reorganization plan including a new board of directors and new roles aimed at addressing concerns raised by Newsom.

The San Francisco, California-based company needs to exit bankruptcy by June 30 to participate in a state-backed fund that would help power utilities cushion the hit from wildfires.

(Reporting by Manojna Maddipatla in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Roshan Abraham in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur and Devika Syamnath)