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Inotiv Files Prepackaged Chapter 11 to Cut $326M Debt, Hand Lenders Control

Inotiv's June 3, 2026 prepackaged Chapter 11 (S.D. Tex.) cuts ~$326M of debt via a debt-for-equity swap: first-lien lenders take 93% of new equity, existing stock is wiped out, Envigo-related DOJ claims are reinstated. Funded by a $65M DIP rolling into a $150M exit loan. Hearing July 14, 2026.

Inotiv, Inc. filed a prepackaged chapter 11 on June 3, 2026 with the restructuring already secured across every layer of its funded debt, seeking to cut roughly $326 million of debt through a debt-for-equity swap that hands control to first-lien lenders and extinguishes existing equity. The Notice of Commencement sets a combined disclosure statement and confirmation hearing for July 14, 2026 before Judge Christopher M. Lopez in the Southern District of Texas, putting the case on an expedited path from petition to a confirmation ruling in roughly six weeks.

The filing implements a Restructuring Support Agreement dated June 2, 2026 backed by holders of more than 99% of first-lien term loan claims, more than 85% of PIK notes claims, and more than 80% of unsecured convertible notes claims. The West Lafayette, Indiana contract research organization entered court after an out-of-court effort to address its liquidity did not produce a transaction, with trade, supplier, customer, and employee claims left unimpaired and a new-money debtor-in-possession facility funding the case. Inotiv also received notice of delisting from Nasdaq as a result of the filing.

Case Snapshot
Debtor(s)Inotiv, Inc. (jointly administered)
CourtU.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of Texas (Houston Division)
Case Number26-90601
JudgeHon. Christopher M. Lopez
Petition DateJune 3, 2026
Restructuring Support AgreementJune 2, 2026
Combined Disclosure Statement / Confirmation HearingJuly 14, 2026 (1:00 p.m. CT)
Voting / Objection DeadlineJuly 6, 2026 (4:00 p.m. CT)
DIP Facility~$65.4 million new-money DIP (interim $25 million access); DIP claims roll into a $150.0 million exit term loan
Claims & Noticing AgentKroll Restructuring Administration LLC
Inotiv Files Prepackaged Chapter 11 to Cut $326M Debt, Hand Lenders Control

Open the public case profile for docket context, hearings, advisors, and plan updates.

From Envigo Acquisition to chapter 11

A research-model supplier built on acquisition. Inotiv (NASDAQ: NOTV) is a contract research organization and supplier of research models and related drug-discovery services, headquartered at 2701 Kent Avenue in West Lafayette, Indiana. The company's footprint in research animals — including non-human primates — expanded substantially through the 2021 acquisition of Envigo RMS, a deal that also left Inotiv with a U.S. Department of Justice animal-welfare enforcement matter tied to Envigo's breeding operations.

Causes of distress. The company attributed the filing to an unsustainable funded-debt load layered onto a business pressured by international competition, shifting preclinical study practices, regulatory change, and tariffs, alongside the legacy cost of the Envigo acquisition and the related DOJ matter. The combination drove the company toward an out-of-court restructuring effort in the weeks before filing.

The bridge and the special committee. On May 18, 2026, Inotiv secured a $40 million bridge facility and formed a special committee to evaluate strategic alternatives, facing late-May and early-June deadlines to execute a transaction support agreement and address interest payment obligations. Those efforts produced the June 2, 2026 RSA and the prepackaged filing the next day. The debtors state that the plan's purpose is to implement a financial restructuring that substantially deleverages the balance sheet, and that any alternative would jeopardize recoveries.

Prepetition Debt Stack and the First Lien Ad Hoc Group

Three funded-debt layers. The prepetition capital structure the plan addresses comprises senior secured first-lien term loans, PIK notes, and unsecured convertible notes, each with its own plan class and its own creditor constituency committed to the RSA. External reporting puts the restructuring's total deleveraging at approximately $326 million via debt-for-equity conversion, a figure Inotiv confirmed in its own press release. The voluntary petition lists estimated assets and liabilities each between $500 million and $1 billion, a balance sheet the plan reduces through the debt-for-equity swap.

The First Lien Ad Hoc Group. Six institutions holding first-lien term loans organized as the First Lien Ad Hoc Group, disclosed $296,721,069.93 in aggregate principal, and represent holders of more than 99% of prepetition first-lien claims. Their Rule 2019 statement breaks out the individual holdings:

First Lien Ad Hoc Group Disclosed Holdings (Docket 87)
MemberDisclosed Prepetition Term Loan Holdings
Highbridge Capital Management, LLC$132,266,863.86
Silver Point Finance, LLC$83,596,408.98
Redwood Capital Management, LLC$29,558,107.90
CION Investment Corp.$24,014,674.95
CrossingBridge Advisors, LLC$18,307,980.79
Philosophy Capital Management, LLC$8,977,033.45
Total$296,721,069.93

Counsel. The First Lien Ad Hoc Group is represented by Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP and Haynes and Boone, LLP, while Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP appears as proposed debtors' counsel. Kroll Restructuring Administration LLC serves as claims and noticing agent.

DIP Financing and the Exit Term Loan

New-money DIP. The case is funded by a debtor-in-possession term loan facility of approximately $65.4 million in new-money financing — a figure the company's SEC filings round to $65.5 million. At the June 4 first-day hearing, the court authorized interim access to roughly $25 million of that facility to keep operations running through the expedited confirmation schedule.

Roll into the exit facility. Rather than repaying the DIP in cash on the effective date, the plan exchanges DIP claims for exit term loans — a partial roll into the go-forward capital structure. The exit facility consists of senior secured first-lien term loans in an aggregate principal amount of $150.0 million, including capitalized PIK interest, fees, OID, and premiums earned on issuance. Full DIP economics — interest rate, maturity, milestones, carve-outs, and adequate-protection terms — remain to be confirmed from the DIP order, which is not yet fully indexed.

Prepackaged Plan Treatment and Reinstated DOJ Claims

Class structure. The proposed plan sorts claims and interests into the following classes, with the funded-debt tranches impaired and the operating-claimant classes left whole:

Proposed Plan Classification (Docket 81)
ClassClaim / InterestStatusTreatment
1Other Priority ClaimsUnimpairedPaid in full in cash or customary treatment
2Other Secured ClaimsUnimpairedPaid in full in cash or customary treatment
3Prepetition First Lien ClaimsImpairedPro rata share of 93% of New Equity Interests (subject to dilution) plus remaining Exit Term Loans
4DOJ ClaimsUnimpairedReinstated
5Prepetition PIK Notes ClaimsImpairedPro rata share of 21% of the Notes Recovery
6Prepetition Unsecured Convertible Notes ClaimsImpairedPro rata share of 79% of the Notes Recovery
7General Unsecured ClaimsUnimpairedPaid in full in cash or reinstated
10Existing Equity InterestsImpairedExtinguished
11Section 510(b) ClaimsImpairedTreatment per plan

First-lien control, noteholders split a recovery. Under the proposed plan, Class 3 first-lien holders receive a pro rata share of 93% of the new equity interests, subject to dilution, plus the remaining exit term loans — the mechanism by which the ad hoc group converts its $296.7 million of term loans into ownership. The PIK noteholders (Class 5) and the unsecured convertible noteholders (Class 6) divide a defined "Notes Recovery" 21% and 79%, respectively.

Operating claims protected; equity extinguished. Trade, customer, supplier, employee, and other non-funded-debt claims are satisfied in the ordinary course, and General Unsecured Claims are unimpaired. Class 10 existing equity interests are extinguished with no distribution, consistent with reporting of a near-total cancellation of existing common stock and the company's expected transition to private ownership.

DOJ claims carried, not discharged. The dedicated Class 4 for DOJ Claims — reinstated and unimpaired — reflects the legacy Envigo animal-welfare matter. Rather than seeking to discharge that exposure, the plan carries the DOJ claims through the restructuring by reinstatement, leaving the government's claims intact against the reorganized debtor.

Releases, exculpation, and injunction. The plan provides mutual releases between the debtors and released parties — including consenting stakeholders and DIP lenders — and those voting to accept, presumed to accept, or abstaining without opting out. It adds exculpation for restructuring-related acts, excluding fraud, willful misconduct, and gross negligence, and a permanent injunction enforcing the released and exculpated claims.

NOL Protections and the Expedited Prepackaged Schedule

Preserving tax attributes. To protect net operating loss carryforwards and other tax attributes, the court entered procedures restricting transfers of common shares and claims. The NOL Trading Procedures Order (Docket 94) and the corrected common-share transfer procedures order (Docket 95) both entered on June 9, 2026, gating transfers that could trigger an ownership change and eliminate the NOL carryforwards.

A streamlined prepack. The scheduling order directed the U.S. Trustee not to convene a Section 341 meeting of creditors and waived the requirement to file schedules of assets and liabilities and statements of financial affairs, consistent with the compressed prepackaged timeline. The plan and disclosure statement were filed with the petition, the court conditionally approved the combined hearing posture at the first-day hearing, and the case now moves directly toward the July 14 combined hearing. Plan voting and confirmation objections are due by July 6, 2026 at 4:00 p.m. Central Time.

Consensual posture. With supermajority creditor support secured across all three funded-debt tranches, the early docket has not produced significant contested matters. The principal procedural activity to date has been the NOL and equity-transfer restriction orders.

Key Timeline

The schedule traces the case from the pre-filing bridge loan through the scheduled combined hearing, drawn from the Notice of Commencement and case docket and contemporaneous reporting.

Case Timeline
DateEvent
May 18, 2026Inotiv secures $40 million bridge facility and forms a special committee to evaluate strategic alternatives
June 2, 2026Restructuring Support Agreement executed
June 3, 2026Voluntary petition filed; prepackaged plan and disclosure statement filed with the court
June 4, 2026First-day hearing before Judge Lopez; interim $25 million DIP access authorized
June 9, 2026NOL Trading Procedures Order (Docket 94) and corrected Equity Transfer Procedures Order (Docket 95) entered
July 6, 2026Plan voting deadline and confirmation objection deadline (4:00 p.m. CT)
July 14, 2026Combined disclosure statement and confirmation hearing (1:00 p.m. CT)

Frequently Asked Questions

What kind of bankruptcy did Inotiv file?

Inotiv filed a prepackaged chapter 11 on June 3, 2026 in the Southern District of Texas (Houston Division) under lead case number 26-90601. The plan, disclosure statement, and a June 2, 2026 Restructuring Support Agreement were all filed with the petition, and the case is set for a combined disclosure statement and confirmation hearing on July 14, 2026.

What happens to Inotiv's debt in the restructuring?

The proposed plan reduces total funded debt by approximately $326 million through a debt-for-equity conversion. First-lien term loan holders take roughly 93% of the new equity plus the remaining exit term loans, the PIK and unsecured convertible noteholders split a defined Notes Recovery, and existing equity is extinguished.

Are trade vendors, employees, and customers paid?

Yes. Under the proposed plan, trade, customer, supplier, employee, and other operating claims are satisfied in the ordinary course of business, and Class 7 General Unsecured Claims are unimpaired — paid in full in cash or reinstated.

What happens to the DOJ animal-welfare claims?

The plan creates a dedicated Class 4 for DOJ Claims tied to the legacy Envigo animal-welfare matter and reinstates them rather than discharging them, leaving those claims intact against the reorganized company.

Who is the claims agent for Inotiv?

Kroll Restructuring Administration LLC serves as the claims and noticing agent. The July 6, 2026 voting deadline and July 14, 2026 combined hearing are set in the Notice of Commencement.

For related prepackaged restructuring coverage, see the Trinseo PLC $2.72 billion prepackaged debt-for-equity plan, the Vroom holding-company prepack that equitized $290 million of convertible notes, and the Timber Pharmaceuticals chapter 11 sale and liquidating plan.

This article was researched and written with AI assistance, using court filings, public records, and news sources. AI-generated content can contain errors. Verify all information against primary sources before relying on it. This is not legal or financial advice. Read our full disclaimer.

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