Ultra-Expedited Prepacks Are No Longer an Academic Curiosity

The fastest prepacks (i.e., a prepackaged Chapter 11 plan of reorganization for which votes were solicited by the debtor prior to the filing of the debtor’s Chapter 11 petition) are getting faster—a lot faster. Three years ago, Roust Corporation set a blistering record in the Southern District of New York when it filed for Chapter 11 relief on Sunday, Dec. 30, 2016, and confirmed its prepack only seven days later. See In re Roust Corp., Case No. 16-23786 (RDD) (Bankr. S.D.N.Y.). Roust’s time-to-confirmation record in the Southern District held up for only two years. FullBeauty Brands filed for Chapter 11 relief earlier this year on Sunday, Feb. 3, 2019, confirmed its plan the next day, and exited Chapter 11 only three days after that (on February 7). See In re FullBeauty Brands Holdings Corp., Case No. 19-22185 (RDD) (Bankr. S.D.N.Y.). Barely three months later, on May 1, 2019, Sungard Availability Services filed for Chapter 11 relief—then confirmed its plan and exited Chapter 11 the very next day. See In re Sungard Availability Servs. Cap., Case No. 19-22915 (RDD) (Bankr. S.D.N.Y.).