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(Bloomberg) — Private equity firm Brookfield Corp. won a key court ruling against funds managed by Joh. Berenberg, Gossler & Co. in the battle for control of bankrupt solar-power company GoldenPeaks Poland Holding Ltd.
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US Bankruptcy Judge Alfredo Perez on Monday agreed to name Brookfield the lead bidder in a court-supervised auction for GoldenPeaks assets and allow Brookfield to continue as the company’s primary bankruptcy lender. Perez rejected Berenberg’s argument that Brookfield was tilting the auction in its favor by acting as both the lead bankruptcy lender and the so-called stalking horse bidder.
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The ruling allows Brookfield to bid using at least $114.8 million in debt it holds instead of putting up cash, court records show. Although such arrangements are common in Chapter 11 cases, Berenberg argued that, in this case, it would be unfair because of Brookfield’s insider position.
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Before GoldenPeaks filed for bankruptcy in May, the company spent years amassing energy assets in Poland and Hungary and claimed to be one of the biggest solar-power players in central and eastern Europe. It’s the largest owner of utility-scale solar assets in Poland, according to court documents filed in Houston.
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GoldenPeaks’ most-valuable assets were placed under independent managers and put into bankruptcy in Texas, where a US judge has been overseeing the insolvency case. It did so there because US restructuring rules give the company more flexibility than insolvency laws in its home country, the company said.
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Berenberg has challenged the decision to put the company into bankruptcy in the US and has asked the court to dismiss the case.
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Some GoldenPeaks units unraveled “precipitously” and liquidity “evaporated” within a matter of weeks, Edward Manning, a managing director at Alvarez & Marsal Inc., the company’s financial and restructuring adviser, said in a court filing.
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As part of the proposed restructuring, GoldenPeaks hired Houlihan Lokey Inc. to market the business as a going concern. The investment bank launched the sale process on June 19, contacting 87 prospective strategic and financial buyers. Six parties have so far expressed interest in gaining access to the data room, according to a court filing dated June 24.
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Brookfield is among the leading private equity backers of renewable energy, raising more than $40 billion to invest in decarbonization projects since 2021, the company said in a 2025 report. In 2021, Brookfield spent $175 million to buy a stake in Polenergia, a large-scale renewable energy business in Poland.
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The case is GoldenPeaks Poland Holding Limited, 26-90564, US Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of Texas (Houston).
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English (US)