Delphi’s nearly four-year struggle to emerge from bankruptcy has more plot twists and death-defying acts than a Hollywood thriller. Julie Triedman tells the inside story of the auto parts maker’s journey back to life
At around 3pm on 6 October 2009, roughly 100 lawyers and executives filed into a conference room in Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom’s Manhattan office. It had taken three years, 11 months and 29 days to get to this moment: Delphi was emerging from the depths of bankruptcy and passing into the hands of its former parent, General Motors Company (GM), as well as two lenders. There was a palpable sense of exhaustion in the room; the close had been convened seven hours earlier. The Veuve Clicquot, selected by Delphi lead lawyer John ‘Jack’ Butler Jr but poured prematurely, was flat.
