Guy Macarol is an associate in the Houston office of Lewis Brisbois, with a practice focused on bankruptcy, restructuring, debt finance, and business litigation. Guy has experience guiding debtors as well as secured and unsecured creditors through bankruptcy proceedings, as well as workouts and litigation representing borrowers, guarantors, and commercial counterparties outside of the bankruptcy context. Guy has also worked with commercial lenders, buyers, and sellers to execute on debt finance, mergers, and acquisition deals both inside and outside of bankruptcy. 

Guy has represented a range of clients in both state and federal courts, including financial institutions of all sizes, individuals, commercial landlords, real estate investment trusts, loan servicers, homeowners, business partners, and financial institutions in various commercial contract and restructuring-related disputes. Guy also has experience with negotiating and drafting loan workouts for out-of-court dispute resolution and executing upon out-of-court debt refinancings.

As a bankruptcy practitioner, Guy began his career representing large debtors and lenders in complex chapter 11 bankruptcy cases as part of a large national practice. At Lewis Brisbois, Guy has also developed his small business debtor-side practice through representation of chapter 11 and chapter 7 debtors of all sizes in one of the busiest complex chapter 11 bankruptcy venues in the nation, the Southern District of Texas. Guy has extensive experience guiding debtors through pre-packaged and traditional chapter 11 cases in industries such as retail, real estate, oil and gas, and healthcare.

Guy also has extensive experience in post-confirmation litigation, often involving tax, insurance, indemnity, and other commercial contract issues. Guy’s strong presence in the courtroom and his focus on both the practical and the legal angles to each engagement make him a successful advocate for clients throughout the chapter 11 process. These skills are accreted by his experience representing both lenders and borrowers, ensuring that Guy’s clients are well represented both in and out of the courtroom.

Guy is originally from Chicago, and has a bachelors’ degree in Philosophy and Classics from New York University. Guy moved to Houston in 2020 to further his bankruptcy practice, and is a proud parent of Klein ISD students.

Published Opinions

Publications

Admissions

• State Bar Admissions
  • Illinois
  • Texas
• United States District Courts
  • United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
  • United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas

Education

University of Illinois, Chicago School of Law

Juris Doctor, 2017

New York University

B.A., Classics & Philosophy, 2012

Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy

H.S., 2009

Representative Matters

• Seadrill Partners: Represented Seadrill Partners and its subsidiaries in two separate liability management programs that effectively restructured more than $2 billion in debt.
• Cobalt International Energy, Inc. — Represented Cobalt International Energy, Inc., and its subsidiaries in their Chapter 11 cases in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. Cobalt was an independent offshore exploration and production company with assets in the deepwater U.S. Gulf of Mexico and offshore West Africa with approximately $2.8 billion of funded indebtedness. Cobalt entered Chapter 11 to complete a sale of all or substantially all of its oil and gas assets and, after an auction, received winning bids for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $580 million. Cobalt also successfully settled arbitration regarding a failed sale of its Angola assets for approximately $500 million. After a hotly contested plan process, the bankruptcy court confirmed Cobalt’s Chapter 11 plan in April 2018.
• Toys“R”Us, Inc. — Represented Toys “R” Us, Inc. and several of its direct and indirect subsidiaries in one of the largest ever retail Chapter 11 filings in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Richmond Division. Following implementation of a strategy to effect a successful wind-down of operations in the United States and going concern sales and/or reorganizations of operations throughout the world, including Asia, led efforts to construct and implement global settlement agreements amongst all stakeholders and five distinct Chapter 11 plans.
• KPS Capital Partners, LP — Represented KPS Capital Partners, LP (“KPS”) as DIP lender, stalking horse bidder, and ultimate purchaser of Briggs & Stratton Corp. and its affiliates (“Briggs & Stratton”). The $550 million acquisition was approved in Briggs & Stratton’s Chapter 11 cases in the Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.
• Seadrill Limited (Second Restructuring) — Representing Seadrill Limited and certain of its direct and indirect subsidiaries in their multi-jurisdictional restructuring of approximately $6.1 billion of funded debt. Seadrill is a leading global provider of offshore contract drilling services and employs nearly 3,100 individuals across 15 countries and five continents. Seadrill's Chapter 11 cases are expected to facilitate a balance sheet restructuring to enable Seadrill to continue to operate its modern fleet of drilling units. 
• Gulfport Energy Corporation — Representing Gulfport Energy Corporation and its wholly-owned subsidiaries in their prearranged Chapter 11 restructuring in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. Gulfport is an independent returns-oriented, gas-weighted exploration and development company and one of the largest producers of natural gas in the contiguous United States, with significant acreage positions in Ohio and Oklahoma. Gulfport entered Chapter 11 with a restructuring support agreement signed by prepetition revolving credit facility lenders holding over 95% of its revolving debt obligations and noteholders holding over 70% of its senior unsecured notes, The restructuring support agreement proposes eliminating approximately $1.25 billion in funded debt obligations, provides for a $262.5 million DIP facility and $580 million in committed exit financing, and contemplates a backstopped rights offering for at least $50 million of preferred equity.
• Valaris plc — Representing Valaris plc and 89 of its subsidiaries in their prearranged Chapter 11 cases. Valaris, which is incorporated in the United Kingdom, is the world’s largest offshore driller by fleet size, owning 67 drilling rigs and operating in every major offshore hydrocarbon basin throughout the globe. Valaris filed Chapter 11 with a restructuring support agreement and backstop commitment agreement to fully equitize all $7.1 billion of its prepetition funded debt, consisting of an unsecured revolving credit facility and 15 series of unsecured notes. The noteholders supporting the restructuring also have committed to a fully backstopped rights offering for $500 million of new secured notes upon emergence from Chapter 11 as well as to provide a $500 million DIP financing facility.
• Macy’s, Inc. — Represented Macy’s, Inc. in connection with its recent $4 billion financing in response to impacts of the COVID-19 global pandemic. The transactions consist of a $2.8 billion ABL Facility and an additional $300 million bridge commitment secured by Macy’s inventory, and $1.3 billion bond offering secured by the company’s top mall assets and distribution centers. The proceeds of the financing will help Macy’s retire certain of its upcoming debt maturities and fund operations during the crisis.
• Deluxe Entertainment Services Group Inc. — Representing Deluxe Entertainment Services Group Inc. and certain of its affiliates in their prepackaged Chapter 11 cases in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Deluxe is a leading content creation-to-distribution company that provides digital media services to Hollywood studios, independent filmmakers, television networks, online content producers, and brands. The Deluxe Chapter 11 cases were filed with a prepackaged plan of reorganization that will consensually reorganize Deluxe by exchanging its secured debt for equity in the reorganized company.
• Hollander Sleep Products, LLC — Represented Hollander Sleep Products, LLC and certain of its affiliates, a leading bedding products manufacturer and wholesaler, specializing in pillows, comforters, mattress pads and foam products, in connection with their prearranged Chapter 11 restructuring in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.
• Vanguard Natural Resources Inc. — Representing Vanguard Natural Resources Inc. and its affiliates in their Chapter 11 cases in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of Texas. Vanguard is an independent exploration and production company focused on the production and development of oil and natural gas properties in the United States with operations in the Gulf Coast, Permian and Anadarko Basins. Vanguard had approximately $850 million in debt at the time of filing and obtained a commitment for a $130 million debtor-in-possession financing facility, which included $65 million in new money.
• American Tire Distributors, Inc. — Representing American Tire Distributors, Inc., one of the largest independent suppliers of replacement tires, in its prearranged Chapter 11 cases. The restructuring of American Tire’s approximately $2.6 billion in funded debt includes a three-year maturity extension and conversion of approximately $1.1 billion of bonds to equity. Existing equity holders are to receive 5% of the new equity, plus warrants for additional equity. The restructuring has the support of a majority of all holders of funded debt and leaves general unsecured creditors unimpaired.
• Seadrill Limited — Represented Seadrill Limited and certain of its direct and indirect subsidiaries in their multi-jurisdictional restructuring of approximately $20 billion of contract and debt obligations. Seadrill is a leading global provider of offshore contract drilling services and employs nearly 4,000 individuals across 22 countries and five continents.Seadrill's pre-arranged Chapter 11 cases, one of the largest filings in 2017 based on asset size, resulted in the re-profiling of approximately $6 billion of secured debt, eliminated approximately $3.5 billion of unsecured bond and contractual obligations, and facilitated a capital investment of more than $1 billion. In the months preceding Chapter 11, Seadrill also consummated a series of ring-fencing transactions that successfully prevented its non-consolidated businesses from also having to commence Chapter 11 cases. Seadrill and its debtor subsidiaries confirmed their Chapter 11 plan with near universal consensus in approximately 7 months and emerged from Chapter 11 in less than 10 months.
• Morgan Stanley - Represented Morgan Stanley in connection with an out-of-court debt refinancing relating to Carl Icahn's various hedge fund interests.