Halliburton units file for bankruptcy (k b&r?)

[salin]

Halliburton units file for bankruptcy

The company's Kellogg Brown & Root and DII Industries units file for Chapter 11 protection.
December 16, 2003: 3:33 PM EST

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Halliburton Co. said Tuesday its Kellogg Brown & Root and DII Industries units filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a Pittsburgh court to resolve asbestos claims against the company.

Houston-based Halliburton (HAL: up $0.50 to $25.16, Research, Estimates), its energy services group, and Kellogg Brown & Root's government services unit, which is providing support services to the U.S. military in Iraq, are not included in the bankruptcy filings, the company said.

Those units in the pre-packaged bankruptcy filings will continue normal operations while in Chapter 11.

The bankruptcies have been expected for a year as Halliburton negotiated details of a plan to settle hundreds of thousands of asbestos injury claims.

more: http://money.cnn.com/2003/12/16/news/companies/halliburton.reut/index.htm

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

1. Yep just long enough to wait for all those asbestos related cancers to die

then settle for pennies on the dollar...just like a Grisham novel.

[candy331]

2. Aha! now we presumbably know the

reason for the no bid contracts or do we?

[htuttle]

3. I should try that myself...

I'll call up my creditors, and tell them, "the business unit in charge of that debt will declare bankruptcy."

Sure, I have money in the bank for my other business units, but the one that owes the money is hereby defunct.

Corporations don't have the same rights as you and I -- they have MORE rights than you and I.

[Jacobin]

4. That would be the company that Cheney decided to buy while he was

at Halliburton....the one with all the asbestos claims.

What a great business man. Into Chapter 11 they go....United States soon to follow into insolvency after his gang is through with us.

[salin]

6. and one of the dresser industry groups ... is the one that went on to sell

to Saddam - in direct opposition to the UN sanctions. That's our Cheney... a man of such integrity... that even after he directed a war against Saddam, and while there were international sanctions on Iraq... he found a way to buy an offshore company through which to do business with Saddam - he also believed once a company is attached to him - that it wouldn't have to actually worry about liability (outstanding asbestos problems)... only little people pay taxes, man wars, or believe in corporate responsibility.

[denverbill]

11. Hey, don't knock Cheney. Look what's going to happen.

The pukies are already trying to pass a law limiting asbestos claims. If you have a company in trouble because of asbestos claims you can buy it for pennies on the dollar, then turn around and relieve them of their liabilities, and you make a mint.

Screw the taxpayers, screw the original owners, and make money for yourself by evading legal action. It's the Republican way.

[spinbaby]

5. A Cheney decision

If I remember correctly, it was Cheney who decided to take on whatever company/project/contract it was that got them into the asbestos mess in the first place.

[catzies]

7. Yes. Cheney failed to do due diligence on the Dresser acquistion,

costing the company (Halliburton) a ton of money then.

But they're getting paid back now with the Iraqi no-bid contracts.

It's all the same to the BFEE after all. Lose a little now, get a lot more later...

[salin]

8. I think that is the cover story. He used Dresser (not US based)

to get around the Sanctions on doing business in Iraq. After some time in 1998 (after the acquisition) Halliburton - through Dresser Industries - did HUGE business with Iraq in rebuilding their oil infrastructure. The stories are always reported seperately. Only at DU have I seen people put the timing together.

When the asbestos liability story came up - and people wrung their hands... why would he do this? The story was ... they shortchanged due diligence.

Meanwhile very quietly the story of hte Iraq dealing through a "foreign subsidiary" was written about - just not much in the US press (During the election Cheney said his company never did business with IRaq... months later he was forced to retract that statement.)

Turns out it was this same subsidiary in both stories.

OF course this doesn't make sense if the liabilities far exceed the amount earned in selling to Iraq (and I don't have the figures). Though there were reports somewhere along the line (after the "poor due diligence" story was long since out of the papers) that Cheney had received advice that there were ways to avoid liability - something about buying and then selling off an insurance subsidiary that held the liability for Dresser - that part of the story is very convoluted and I don't remember it well. But appears that they believed there was a funky maneuver that could try alleviate ANY responsibility from Halliburton - then they get the Iraq oil money benefit... without the liability costs.

[drfemoe]

9. well who didn't see this

titanic coming from a mile away ?

[Eric J in MN]

10. Congress recently made it more difficult for individuals

Congress recently made it more difficult for individuals to file for bankruptcy.

Apparently, a company raking in billions filing for bankruptcy to avoid paying money to people it harmed is still ok.

[buddhamama]

12. it was only a matter of time

no worries though, it'll be back in no time under a new name.
same dirty bastards though, unfortunately.

[frank frankly]

13. this better be on the news

fuck. come on! this is such a huge scandal