Kramer Levin Represents Lender Group in Payless Restructuring

Kramer Levin successfully represented an ad hoc lender group in the Chapter 11 cases of Payless and its affiliated debtors. Payless was one of the largest specialty footwear retailers in the world with approximately 3,400 stores in more than 40 countries, and more than 16,000 employees in North America. Following the February 2019 bankruptcy filing in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, Kramer Levin counseled the ad hoc group in connection with post-petition financing, forcing the company to implement corporate governance improvements, and the negotiation and confirmation of a Chapter 11 plan under which Payless reorganized its Latin American operations. The Payless plan of reorganization went effective on Jan. 14, 2020.