Laidlaw Exits Bankruptcy Protection

Laidlaw International Inc., which owns Greyhound Lines, North America’s biggest bus company, emerged from two years of bankruptcy protection after paying creditors $1 billion.

The payments came from $1.23 billion in new financing, Laidlaw said in a statement. Citigroup Inc. and Credit Suisse First Boston provided the credit lines, Laidlaw Vice President and Treasurer Geoff Mann said.

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York approved issuing 103.8 million Laidlaw International shares. Holders of Laidlaw’s bank debt got 31.2 million shares, bondholders received 58.1 million, and unsecured claimholders got 10.7 million.

Laidlaw, formerly based in Burlington, Ontario, is now a Delaware corporation. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. and for Canadian bankruptcy protection in 2001.

Laidlaw plans to list its shares on the NYSE, Mann said.