U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Michael Wiles on Monday declined to issue final approval for the sale of Relativity Media’s bankrupt assets.
“I applaud the efforts of everybody who worked so hard over the weekend, but we have a little bit of a due process issue here,” Wiles said in his courtroom in New York City. “People deserve an opportunity to read the agreement.”
Wiles said details of the revised deal were only just filed, and all parties needed more time to digest them.
Relativity attorney Bennet Spiegel said Ryan Kavanaugh and his new investors have enough working capital in place through Oct. 20, the date the TV assets are expected to be formally sold off to a group of senior lenders for $125 million. Kavanaugh and his team will be appearing before the court before at that time to approve additional financing to keep the non-TV portion of the company operational.
“What today’s sale does not do is provide for working capital of the company going forward after October 20,” Spiegel said in court.
Spiegel expects Relativity’s reorganization under Kavanaugh to be complete by late December, possibly spilling over into early January.