Meet The Attys In Packaging Co. Pretium’s Prepack Ch. 11

Pretium Packaging, a private equity-backed maker of rigid plastic containers, has hired attorneys from Cole Schotz PC and Kirkland & Ellis LLP to steer it through a prepackaged bankruptcy it began after struggling to stabilize its business in the face of more than $1 billion in debt.

Pretium collapsed into Chapter 11 in January, less than three years after completing a debt exchange that injected $200 million into the company. In its petition, the debtor’s Chief Financial Officer J. Federico Barreto said the company and its nine affiliates are holding between $1 billion and $10 billion in both assets and liabilities.

The company has approximately $1.836 billion in outstanding funded debt as of the petition date, according to Barreto’s first-day declaration filed in New Jersey bankruptcy court.

According to the declaration filed by Barreto, Pretium Packaging has encountered substantial challenges in recent years, as post-pandemic normalization in customer demand across the industry resulted in weaker order volumes and reduced manufacturing utilization. The headwinds were exacerbated by high inflation, supply-chain constraints and additional operational hurdles, Barreto said.

Before filing for Chapter 11 protection Jan. 28, Pretium completed a liability management transaction in 2023 that provided an $83 million discount on its debt and more than $200 million in liquidity. But that breathing room lasted only until the middle of last year, when Pretium began exploring another debt restructuring.

Its negotiations in 2025 resulted in a restructuring support agreement that has laid the foundation for its bankruptcy case in New Jersey. In Chapter 11, Clearlake Capital-backed Pretium is aiming to trim $900 million from its funded debt and emerge from the case in less than a month.

Pretium Packaging secured a New Jersey bankruptcy judge’s approval on Jan. 30 to borrow $401 million to fund its Chapter 11 case. A creditor filed a limited objection to its plan on Feb. 12, according to the docket.

Here are the attorneys working to bring Pretium’s bankruptcy plan to fruition:

Michael D. Sirota

A member in his firm’s office in Hackensack, New Jersey, Sirota is the co-chair of the bankruptcy department as well as an emeritus co-managing shareholder and has helped clients including WeWork and Bed Bath & Beyond in their Chapter 11s. He has also worked for David’s Bridal and Rite Aid Corp, in their bankruptcies, his firm biography says.

He graduated from Syracuse University College of Law with his law degree, his firm profile says.

Felice R. Yudkin

Also a member based in Hackensack, Yudkin has taken on work for clients including David’s Bridal in its Chapter 11, and also assisted BlockFi and WeWork in their respective bankruptcies. She has also lent her hand to the Chapter 11 cases of Eddie Bauer and Multi-Color Corp. among others, according to her firm’s website.

She received her bachelor’s degree from Emory University and her law degree from Fordham University School of Law, her firm profile says.

Warren A. Usatine

A Boca Raton, Florida-based member, Usatine is a co-chair in the litigation department as well as a co-managing shareholder at the firm, and has assisted clients including Rite Aid Corp. in its bankruptcy, while also having taken part in the bankruptcies of BlockFi and WeWork. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia and his law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, his firm website says.

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