DALLAS, Jan. 4, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- As previously
announced, Southwest Bank, the trustee of the Dominion Resources
Black Warrior Trust (NYSE: DOM) (the "Trust"), was informed by
Walter Energy, Inc., the parent of Walter Black Warrior Basin LLC
(the "Company"), that it, together with certain of its subsidiaries
and affiliates, including the Company ("Debtors") filed a petition
for relief under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code (the
"Bankruptcy Code") with the United States District Court for the
Northern District of Alabama Southern Division (the "Bankruptcy
Court") on July 15, 2015 and that it has an agreement with
lenders regarding a pre-negotiated restructuring plan. There
have been several rulings related to the bankruptcy proceedings as
disclosed by the Trust in Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with
the Securities and Exchange Commission on each of August 19, 2015, September
16, 2015, November 20, 2015
and December 31,
2015.
As stated in the Trust's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed by
the Trust on November 23, 2015,
pursuant to Section 9.02(b) of the Trust Agreement of the
Trust (the "Trust Agreement"), the Trust shall terminate on its
terms as a result of the failure to maintain a 1.2 to 1.0 ratio for
two consecutive calendar quarters of (i) cash received
pursuant to the Royalty Interests of the Trust (as defined
hereafter) to (ii) administrative costs. The "Royalty
Interests" are certain overriding royalty interests in the proved
natural gas properties located in the Pottsville coal formation of the Black Warrior
Basin, Tuscaloosa County, Alabama
(the "Underlying Properties"). Walter Energy, Inc. did not
pay either (i) the distribution to the Trust that would have
typically been paid in August 2015
and normally would have included payments for the Royalty Interests
sold during the production months of April, May and June 2015 or (ii) the distribution to the Trust
that would have typically been paid in December 2015 and normally would have included
payments for the Royalty Interests sold during the production
months July, August and September 2015. As a result of these
nonpayments, the Trust has not maintained a 1.2 to 1.0 ratio for
two consecutive calendar quarters. Therefore, pursuant to
Section 9.02(b) of the Trust Agreement, the Trust must terminate.
Correspondence and conferences with the Debtors have
indicated that any further distributions to the Trust would also
not be made. As a result of the termination, the Trust
anticipates that the New York Stock Exchange (the "NYSE") will
initiate an immediate suspension of trading of the Trust's units
and will initiate a delisting process from the NYSE.
While the Trustee continues to evaluate legal options with
respect to the Trust, it intends to proceed with winding up the
affairs of the Trust.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within
the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended (the "Exchange Act"). All statements other than statements
of historical fact included in this press release are
forward-looking statements. Although the Trustee believes that the
expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are
reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will
prove to have been correct.
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SOURCE Dominion Resources Black Warrior Trust
