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UPDATE 1: Brightline Florida Enters Chapter 11 to Restructure HoldCo Debt Under RSA, With $490M New Capital From Stakeholders; Filing Excludes $2.2B of OpCo Tax-Exempt Bonds

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✨ Summary by AI at Octus
Brightline Florida, a private high-speed intercity passenger railroad in Florida, and several affiliates have filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy, reporting assets and liabilities between $1 billion and $10 billion. The operating company, Brightline Trains Florida LLC, is not included in the filing and will continue operations under its current management. A restructuring support agreement has been reached with stakeholders, including Assured Guaranty and a group of Mutual Fund bondholders, who have committed $490 million in new capital. Assured Guaranty has confirmed that the OpCo tax-exempt senior bonds are not part of the bankruptcy filing, and it will ensure the timely payment of deferred interest for bondholders opting for deferral.

Fri Sep 25, 2026 12:42 AM ET: Brightline Florida, a private, high-speed intercity passenger railroad operating in central and south Florida, and several affiliates entered chapter 11 case tonight, reporting $1 billion to $10 billion in both assets and liabilities. The debtor entities do not include the operating company – Brightline Trains Florida LLC, – potentially avoiding the application of Section 1163 of the Bankruptcy Code, which requires the appointment of a trustee for a debtor that is a “railroad.”

According to the company’s press release, Brightline Trains Florida “will not file for chapter 11 and will continue to operate in the ordinary course under the leadership of its existing management team.”

The press release states that certain existing stakeholders have entered into a restructuring support agreement, including Assured Guaranty and an ad hoc group of Mutual Fund bondholders. As part of the RSA, supporting stakeholders have committed to provide $490 million of new long term capital to Brightline Trains Florida, consisting of $140 million of additional senior debt and $350 million of new junior debt. The release adds that “$2.2 billion Brightline Trains Florida LLC Issue, Series 2024 (Tax-Exempt) Bonds and the existing bond insurance policy issued by Assured Guaranty will remain in place through the restructuring.”

Assured Guaranty issued a separate press release, reiterating that the company’s OpCo tax-exempt senior bonds, of which Assured insures over 50%, are not part of the chapter 11 filing and their payment obligations remain in place. Assured states that it has committed to provide $70 million of the $140 million additional OpCo senior debt which will be used to support Brightline Florida’s ongoing operations and repay the post-petition financing.

Assured says it has agreed to provide up to $178 million of that funding. This funding will be repaid upon the exit of such Brightline Florida entities from the bankruptcy process.

Assured says that separately, OpCo and specific bondholders have agreed to a limited deferral of scheduled interest payments on its uninsured and insured senior bonds held by such bondholders in exchange for a fee paid by OpCo; OpCo will offer the same interest deferral option to all senior bondholders. With respect to insured bonds, AG will guarantee the timely payment of the deferred interest when due under the deferral for those bondholders electing to defer, and will continue to guarantee the timely payment of interest as originally scheduled for those bondholders not electing to defer.

The debtors are requesting the chapter 11 cases be jointly administered under the case of debtor FIHPNP LLC (case no. 26-20872).

The debtors are advised by Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Cole Shotz as co-counsel, Perella Weinberg Partners and Houlihan Lokey as co-investment banker and Alvarez & Marsal as financial advisor. Stretto is the claims and noticing agent.

A rider attached to the petition lists the following affiliates as also filing for chapter 11 relief:
 

  • FIHP LLC
  • FIHPNP LLC
  • FIHPNPNJ LLC
  • AAF Jacksonville Segment LLC
  • BL Florida LLC
  • BLH Investment LLC
  • BLTF Holdings LLC
  • Brevard FGT LLC
  • Brightline East LLC
  • Brightline Holdings LLC
  • Brightline Management LLC
  • Brightline Property Holdings LLC
  • DT Miami LLC
  • Flagler Management LLC
  • Flagler Management West LLC
  • Florida Investment Holdings LLC
  • New Flagler Development LLC

The company’s consolidated corporate ownership statement can be viewed HERE.

The debtors’ largest unsecured creditors disclosed in the petition included the following:
 

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