Opus West says it owes $1.46 billion - Sacramento Business Journal:

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and some of its subsidiaries filed voluntary petitions late Monday for reorganization underChaptee 11. Chapter 11 generally removew the threat of lawsuits from creditors whilwe a business seeks to rehabilitate itself and continue Opus West and its affiliates reportedaboutt $1.28 billion in total assets and $1.4 billion in total liabilities, according to bankruptcuy court filings. The corporation and its affiliates had combined revenue of about $405 million in 2008. The parent company lists 200 to 999 according tobankruptcy filings. Opus West Corp. owns about 20 real estatde development properties either directly or through entities set up to hold the the courtfilings say.
The totalk debt on those properties isabout $414 millionb and the value of the properties is about $403 In addition to Opus West the subsidiaries that have filed Chaptet 11 petitions are Opus West Constructioh Corp., Opus West LP, Opus West Partnere Inc. and O.W. Commercial Inc. Opus West has guaranteed about $1.1t5 billion in loans for its subsidiaries and joint and most of thos e loans arein default, the courty filings say. Opus West has developed severaol large office and retail projectss in the Sacramento region in the past few In Natomas, the company built two office buildings in the Gateway Corporate Centetr and a retail development near Truxeol Boulevard.
Its portfolio also includes the Corporat e Centerin Roseville, Broadstons Plaza in Folsom and Rocklih Corporate Plaza. Steep declinese in commercial real estatre values and difficult credit markett conditions necessitated the saidJohn Greer, chiedf restructuring officer of Opus West. Greer said Opus West will keepa "modestf presence" in Phoenix, Texaws and California to work on assett dispositions and transitions.
"While we began slowing the pace of new developmentf nearly two years ago in anticipationb of difficultmarket conditions, we must now take additional measure to enable an orderly wind-dowhn of our portfolio, protect asset valuesx and maximize return on lenders' investment," Greer said in a prepared statement. Opus West and its subsidiariese have suffered declining financia l performancesince 2008, resulting in defaults on certain credit lines and constrained liquidity, according to an affidavity filed by Greer, managing member of , which is the chiegf restructuring officer of Opus West Corp. Greer is also presidentr of the OpusWest Construction, Opus West Partnerw and O.W.
Commercial subsidiaries. Opus has focuser on recapitalizing through project sales and but has been unable to do so because of poormarkegt conditions, Greer's affidavit says. Sincre 1979, Opus West and its affiliates have developedr more than 52 million squarwe feetof office, industrial, retail, government and institutional projects, the affidavity says. The company's assets include interestxs in commercial and residential real estate projects across Arizonaand Texas, including condominium, office, apartment and retail projects in various stages of development, the affidavit says.
Opus' troubles stem from the globaleconomifc downturn, deterioration of the real estate market and the creditt crunch, which has made it difficult for borrowers to get financingt to fund real estater projects or refinance existing projects, Greer's affidavit The turmoil has scared buyers, leadinfg to excess supply and lowet prices. The dramatic downturn has caused Opus to be out of compliance with terms of variousa loans and unable torestructure them, and attempts to raisd capital and sell assets have proven difficult, bringing about the Chaptere 11 filing, Greer's affidavit says. Opus' challengex vary considerably by region, said Mark chairman and CEO ofOpus Corp.
"Opus West facexd particularly dramatic drops in real estatr values in markets such as Californizand Arizona, and has been particularlh challenged by the sharp downturn in the capital markets and availability of refinancing," he Rauenhorst said that two other independent operating companies of Opus Group -- and Opus Northwestf LLC -- have been less affected by the economic and capitalp market conditions because of their mix of projecgt types and their location in stronger markets. , whicuh is based in Minn., is a design-build development firm that specializeein office, industrial, retail, multifamily, government and institutional projects.
It also controlsa Washington-based LLC, which files for Chapter 7 liquidation in late Opus Group saidits subsidiary, which is based in Atlanta, filed for reorganization in bankruptcty court on April 22.