A U.S. bankruptcy judge on Wednesday declined to appoint an equity committee in Revlon Inc.’s bankruptcy, rejecting a minority shareholder demand for a greater say in the cosmetics company’s restructuring.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David Jones in Manhattan said shareholder interests were already represented in the bankruptcy by Revlon, majority shareholder MacAndrews & Forbes, and the minority shareholder group led by investment advisor Mittleman Brothers LLC, which is free to continue advocating for shareholders on an unofficial basis.
Equity committees are only rarely appointed in bankruptcy cases, and Jones ruled that the cost of appointing a committee outweighed its likely value. If an official equity committee were appointed, Revlon would have to pay its attorneys and professionals at a time when its resources are already stretched, Jones said….