Charter Commun: Judge to OK bankruptcy exit plan

ST. LOUIS — Charter Communications Inc. said Thursday that a bankruptcy judge plans to approve its pre-arranged reorganization plan, which is the last step before the company can emerge from court protection.

The nation’s fourth-largest cable operator issued a statement saying the judge said in court that he would approve the plan and would make it official within the next several weeks. The company said Thursday it will emerge shortly after that.

St. Louis-based Charter is controlled by Microsoft Corp. co-founder Paul Allen. It filed for bankruptcy protection in March, struggling under $21.7 billion in debt accumulated as it made a string of acquisitions. The tight credit market prevented it from refinancing its loans or getting new ones.

In April, the court approved Charter’s disclosure statement, which is the plain language explanation of its reorganization plan. That approval also allowed the company to solicit votes from creditors and led to the judge’s consideration of the plan itself.

The Chapter 11 case was filed in the Southern District of New York.