Brookfield Wins Ruling as Lead Bidder in Polish Solar Bankruptcy

Brookfield Corp. cleared a major hurdle in the fight for a bankrupt Polish solar company, winning the right to serve as both the lead bidder and the primary bankruptcy lender. US Bankruptcy Judge Alfredo Perez rejected arguments from funds managed by Joh. Berenberg, Gossler & Co. that the dual role gave Brookfield an unfair advantage in the auction for GoldenPeaks Poland Holding Ltd.

The ruling allows Brookfield to credit-bid at least $114.8 million of debt instead of putting up cash, a standard practice in Chapter 11 cases. Berenberg had claimed that because Brookfield already sits inside the company as a lender, the arrangement would tilt the auction. Perez disagreed.

GoldenPeaks is one of the largest owners of utility-scale solar assets in Poland, according to court documents, and spent years amassing energy assets in Poland and Hungary before filing for bankruptcy in May. The company chose a Texas court because US restructuring rules offer more flexibility than Polish insolvency law – a decision Berenberg is also challenging. The German bank has asked the judge to dismiss the case entirely.

The pace of the unraveling was severe. Edward Manning, a managing director at Alvarez & Marsal Inc., the company’s financial adviser, said in a court filing that some GoldenPeaks units collapsed “precipitously” and that liquidity evaporated within weeks. GoldenPeaks quickly hired Houlihan Lokey Inc. to market the business as a going concern. The sale process launched June 19, with 87 prospective buyers contacted. As of a June 24 filing, six parties had expressed interest in accessing the data room.