A federal bankruptcy judge on Tuesday denied a request by Washington Mutual Inc. to keep details of certain asset sales secret.
WaMu, which filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in September, wants to sell certain equity holdings and interests in venture capital funds to generate value for the company and its creditors. The Seattle-based thrift was the biggest bank to collapse in U.S. history, with about $307 billion in assets.
Washington Mutual Co.'s attorneys have sought permission to redact details of asset purchase prices from sale notices that would be sent to interested parties.
WaMu attorney David Berz told Judge Mary Walrath on Tuesday that disclosing pricing details could hurt the value the company might receive and "chill future transactions." Berz proposed pricing details be given only to WaMu's creditors committee, bondholders and the U.S. trustee, subject to confidentiality agreements.
But Joseph McMahon Jr., an attorney for the U.S. trustee, said the assets to be sold are not part of WaMu's core operations and do not meet the definition of confidential commercial information whose disclosure could give WaMu's competitors an unfair advantage.
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