Cobalt International Energy Inc. was a publicly traded company whose major investors included Carlyle Group and Paulson & Co. Cobalt and all its affiliated companiesfiled voluntary petitions for relief under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code onDecember 14, 2017. A number of factors such as the failed sale of operations in Angola, lawsuits related to its business in the West African nation, a prolonged downturn in the exploration and production industry, and nearly $3 billion in debt and looming interest payments, have led the oil-and-gas company to seek protection from creditors in a U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston. Cobalts intent by using the chapter 11 process was to seek relief from creditors in order to conduct liquidation efforts to conclusion with a value-maximizing transaction. In other words, the company is liquidating by selling its assets to pay its creditors. Cobalts main assets are in the deep water of the Gulf of Mexico and in the waters off the coasts of the Republic of Angola in West Africa. Only one of its assets, Heidelberg, which is 140 miles off the Louisiana coast in 5,300 feet of water, is currently producing oil. Its revenue, however, is not enough to help pay for the development of other assets. Cobalts long-term debts include $2.8 billion in first- and second-lien notes, and unsecured notes that mature in 2019 and 2024. The company has had constructive discussions with first- and second-lien note holders, as well as a group representing about half of its convertible senior unsecured note holders, about the restructuring and proposed sale of its assets. An auction for the sale of the Debtors' assets was held onMarch 6, 2018.

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