GM gets final OK for $33.3 bln bankruptcy loan
* GM allowed to access rest of DIP loan
* Asbestos claimants pull request for official committee
By Tom Hals and Phil Wahba
NEW YORK, June 25 - General Motors <GMGMQ.PK> received final court approval on Thursday to borrow up to $33.3 billion from the U.S., Canadian and Ontario governments to carry the automaker through its bankruptcy.
Judge Robert Gerber of federal bankruptcy court in Manhattan approved the final order for the loan, as well as a modified plan to retain AlixPartners as restructuring advisers to GM.
GM had received interim court approval on June 2 to access up to $15 billion of the bankruptcy financing, also known as a "debtor-in-possession" or DIP loan. The order on Thursday cleared the way for GM to access the rest of the DIP loan, which is the largest ever approved in a U.S. bankruptcy.
The automaker filed for bankruptcy protection on June 1 and has proposed selling its operations to a "new GM," majority owned by the U.S. government in a deal that would leave some brands and factories in bankruptcy to be liquidated to satisfy outstanding claims.
Opponents to the sale have argued that the "new GM" should not be allowed to walk away from product liabilities and asbestos claims.
A lawyer representing asbestos claimants recently asked the court to appoint a legal representative for future asbestos claimants and a committee for asbestos claimants.
That request was withdrawn on Thursday, although the issue will likely be a focal point at the hearing to approve the sale, which starts on Tuesday.
Thursday's court hearing broke for lunch in the middle of a debate about setting up an official committee to represent GM's 122,000 non-union retirees. The retirees' pension plan will be absorbed without changes by the New GM, but the automaker has said it aims to cut the cost of their health benefits by two-thirds.
The judge approved a request to retain AlixPartners as the restructuring advisers to GM. The U.S. Trustee had objected to the initial request calling the fee structure "excessive". Under the new agreement, no AlixPartners employee can bill more than Al Koch, who was retained at $835 per hour as GM's chief restructuring officer.