Judge delays Delphi hearing

DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
DETROIT -- A key Jan. 5 hearing date in the Delphi Corp. bankruptcy has been pushed back by nearly a week to Jan. 11, allowing more time for critics to compose arguments against Delphi's bid to close a proposed 3.4 billion bankruptcy-emergence equity deal with a group of investors.
Robert Drain, the judge who oversees the Chapter 11 bankruptcy case involving Delphi, has decided to allow more time for relevant parties to discuss and consider opposition to Delphi's deal with a team of investors led by Appaloosa Management, Delphi spokeswoman Claudia Piccinin said Friday. The bankruptcy court must approve the deal by Jan. 22, or it can be nullified by Appaloosa, according to a letter the hedge fund's team sent to Delphi earlier this week.
Drain decided to change the hearing date following an alternative 4.7 billion funding plan proposed Thursday by Highland Capital, which says it owns about 8.8 percent of Delphi's stock and has positioned itself as a rival hedge fund to Appaloosa in the battle to shape Delphi's future.
Highland is not a part of the Appaloosa investment team and accuses the Appaloosa team of forging a sweetheart deal that gives too much preference to the investment group.
Separately on Friday, Delphi parent General Motors Corp. said it plans to honor an exclusivity agreement it has with the Appaloosa team that restricts the automaker until April 2 from talking to any other Delphi stakeholders about alternative Delphi funding plans.