Oil Field Vendor Nine Files Bankruptcy to Cut $320 Million Debt

Nine Energy Service Inc., a Houston-based oil field vendor, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Sunday as it struggled with high leverage and a shrinking business amid a slowdown in drilling programs.

The deal will see a “complete equitization” of its $320 million first-lien notes due 2028, according to court papers. The company first sold bonds to fund an acquisition of peer Magnum Oil Tools in 2018, and later refinanced that debt into the 13% first-lien notes.

However, “the indebtedness issues originating from the Magnum acquisition were never entirely resolved and continue to weigh on the company’s balance sheet ...