Committee escalates Brookfield discovery fight before credit-bid sale
The Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors is seeking to compel document production from Brookfield Asset Management Limited and extend its deadline to challenge Brookfield’s prepetition obligations and liens. In its emergency motion, the Committee asked the court to overrule Brookfield’s discovery objections and move the Challenge Period through 14 days after Brookfield completes production. The Committee said the Final DIP Order’s current formulation could terminate the period as early as the August 4 sale hearing, rather than August 15.
The Committee characterized Brookfield as the Debtors’ prepetition and DIP lender, controlling equity holder, stalking-horse bidder and prospective credit bidder. It is investigating Brookfield’s influence over the Debtors, asset valuations, the sale process, the use of prepetition financing proceeds and payments benefiting Brookfield during the year before bankruptcy. The dispute places discovery and challenge rights directly on the critical path to sale approval: absent additional time, the Committee contends it could lose its opportunity to test Brookfield’s liens and the value delivered by a sale of substantially all assets to Brookfield before receiving the requested evidence.