The Challenge
Strike LLC (“Strike” or “the Company”), founded in 2003, is a provider of pipeline, facilities, and infrastructure services to the energy sector. Strike's business is divided into two segments: infrastructure and integrity services (“IIS”), and facilities and specialty services (“FSS”). The Company has offices across the U.S. and services some of the largest companies in the oil and gas industry.
Following a period of rapid expansion, the Company began to experience operational issues with several major projects due to regulatory delays and severe weather, which led to a liquidity shortage. Additionally, macroeconomic factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic and economic shutdown, stunted demand for its services. The Company implemented several cost-saving measures but was unsuccessful in curing liquidity issues by traditional means.
The Solution
Opportune was initially retained to assist the Company with an out-of-court restructuring of its second lien-term loan before the in-court restructuring. As part of these negotiations, Opportune assisted in the preparation of a complex business plan in a short timeframe to meet the requirements of its term loan credit agreement. Our assistance was instrumental in the Company being able to meet the timelines for providing the business plan and related materials under the aggressive milestones in the term loan credit agreement, thus allowing the Company to remain in compliance with its debt agreements while it negotiated a restructuring of its term loan and a $65.0 million new money capital raise.
Following the equity issuance, performance continued to lag expectations and Opportune was re-engaged before filing to assist with debtor-in-possession (“DIP”) financing negotiations and the bankruptcy filing process. Opportune assisted in the preparation of bankruptcy documents, including “first day” motions, oversaw the identification of executory contracts and leases, reviewed creditor claims, and provided ongoing support for managing the day-to-day requirements of the bankruptcy process.
Opportune Partners LLC was also retained as the investment bank to run a marketing process for the sale of substantially of the Company’s assets through a bankruptcy court-supervised $363 sale. As part of these efforts, Opportune prepared numerous marketing materials and documents in connection with the sale process and facilitated the due diligence processes of potential financial and strategic buyers. Opportune worked closely with the Company and potential buyers to maximize the value of the estate.