Date of Bankruptcy: March 20, 2013
Debts: $1.6 billion
The Chinese solar panel manufacturer, one of the world's biggest, was
forced into bankruptcy court after the company missed a $541 million
payment to bondholders.
9. OGX
Date of Bankruptcy: Oct. 30, 2013
Debts: $5.1 billion
Darling of Brazilian
billionaire Eike Batista, OGX Petróleo e Gas Participações SA filed for
bankruptcy protection after failing to reach an agreement with creditors
to negotiate part of its $5.1 billion debt.
8. James River Coal
Date of Bankruptcy: April 8, 2014
Assets: $1 billion
Another victim of the U.S.
coal downturn, James River Coal declared itself bankrupt in April,
2014, having emerged from a previous bankruptcy in 2004.
7. Patriot Coal
Date of Bankruptcy: July 9, 2012
Assets: $3.6 billion
Patriot Coal lost money every year since 2010, and in 2012 recorded a loss of $198.5 million.
6. ATP Oil & Gas
Date of Bankruptcy: April 17, 2012
Assets: $3.6 billion
A 2010 moratorium on deepwater operations in the Gulf of Mexico meant
ATP was not able to complete wells on its Titan production platform.
Forced to spin off Titan and borrow $350 million, ATP spiralled
downward, crushed by $2.7 billion in debt obligations.
5. Calpine Corporation
Date of Bankruptcy: December 20, 2005
Assets: $26.6 billions
Soaring fuel costs led the company to incur more than $22.5 billion in
debt. The subsequent bankruptcy filing followed the ouster of top
executives after they lost a fight with bondholders to use proceeds from
asset sales to buy fuel.
4. Texaco
Date of Bankruptcy: April 12, 1987
Assets: $34.9 billion
Texaco started out in
1901 as the Texas Fuel Company and was independent for 100 years before
merging with Chevron in 2001. However, in the 1980s, Texaco became
embroiled in a legal battle with Pennzoil, and ended up owing the
company $10.5 billion.
3. Pacific Gas & Electric Company
Date of Bankruptcy: Bankrupt April 6, 2001
Assets: $36.1 billion
California's largest publicly-owned utility went bust after deregulation led the company to incur billions in debt.
2. Energy Future Holdings
Date of Bankruptcy: April 29, 2014
Assets: $36.4 billion
Energy Future Holdings
became the largest power producer in Texas in 2007 after a $45 billion
buyout of TXU Corp. But the company struggled under the weight of $40
billion in debt after revenues plunged due to lower prices for natural
gas and electricity.
1. Enron
Date of Bankruptcy: December 2, 2001
Assets: $65.5 billion
In one year, Enron's stock price plummeted from more than $90 to less than $1, resulting in $11 billion in shareholder losses.
