Money-losing Delta Petroleum Corp. has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization after it was unable to find a buyer or new financing.
The petition, filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of Delaware, listed company assets of $375.5 million and debts of $310.7 million.
Shares of Denver-based Delta on Friday fell 13 cents to a record low closing price of 20 cents. The stock has lost 97 percent of its value this year. It traded as high as $302 a share in 2006.
Delta “has been in financial distress for quite some time,” a company officer said in the bankruptcy court filing.
The company focuses on oil and natural-gas production in the Piceance Basin of western Colorado.
In November, Delta reported a $429.4 million net loss for the third quarter of 2011 and reported no success in raising cash through new financing or asset sales.
The company had said then that financial restructuring was “likely.”
Delta said that it will seek approval of a $57.5 million debtor-in-possession financing package to fund longer-term operations.
Shorter-term needs are expected to be met by “current and future cash resources,” Delta said in a statement.
“After reviewing all of our alternatives, the company’s management and board of directors, working in consultation with outside legal and financial advisers, unanimously determined that the Chapter 11 process would provide the opportunity for the best result for our creditors, shareholders, suppliers, employees and customers,” president and chief executive Carl Lakey said. “We are committed to diligently working for all of our stakeholders to achieve the best possible outcome from this process.”
Billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian is Delta’s largest stockholder, with 33 percent of the company, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Kerkorian last week filed suit against legendary oil wildcatter “Tiger Mike” Davis, who Kerkorian alleges committed a “massive fraud” by convincing Kerkorian to buy his $684 million stake in Delta at $19 a share.
Steve Raabe: 303-954-1948 or sraabe@denverpost.com
