Exide Technologies Inc., XIDE -16.38% the car- and machine-battery maker, is preparing for a potential bankruptcy-protection filing by this summer, said people familiar with the matter.
The Milton, Ga., company, which faces a September debt payment, will likely seek Chapter 11 protection for the second time in a decade in a move known in restructuring circles as a "Chapter 22," these people said.
Any Chapter 11 filing isn't expected to include the company's European operations, a person familiar with the situation said. These operations account for more than half of the company's revenues.
The company, which makes and recycles lead-acid batteries for vehicles and other machines, has suffered from declining profitability due in part, it has said, to steep restructuring expenses, weaker-than-expected demand in some markets and higher lead-input costs.
It also has contended with scrutiny at a California battery-recycling facility, where operations are currently suspended pending the outcome of a public hearing amid allegations the company's storm-water system violated state regulations. The company has said it is "evaluating its legal and regulatory remedies."
Exide, which employs about 10,000 people with operations in more than 80 countries, carries roughly $700 million in debt. Creditors and analysts are concerned that Exide, which says it supplies BMW AG, BMW.XE -1.84% Fiat SpA, F.MI -6.48% Nissan Motor Co. 7201.TO -2.55% and other manufacturers, won't be able to repay a roughly $56 million convertible note due in September, some of these people said.
Restructuring lawyers at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP are working with the company, while law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP is advising an independent board committee, the people said. Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP is working with some bondholders and Andrews Kurth LLP is working with convertible-note holders, these people said.
Turnaround firm Alvarez & Marsal is working with the company, investment bank Houlihan Lokey is working with some bondholders and Moelis & Co. is working with convertible-note holders, they added.
In early April, Exide disclosed it retained Lazard Ltd. LAZ +2.45% to review options for reworking its finances. Shares sank about 48% to $1.37 after Debtwire initially reported the Lazard hiring. The shares closed at 34 cents Thursday, down 16%.
Also in April, Exide said it was suspending operations at a Vernon, Calif., secondary lead-recycling facility to comply with an order from the California Department of Toxic Substances Control. The company had said it didn't know how long the suspension of operations at the Vernon facility will last but that the facility provides a "significant portion" of its domestic lead requirements.
In the most recent quarter for which the company reported results, ended Dec. 31, 2012, Exide had a $15.4 million loss, compared with a profit of $68.2 million a year earlier.
Some ratings firms, including Standard & Poor's, lowered their ratings on Exide further into junk territory following the April announcements.
Write to Emily Glazer at emily.glazer@wsj.com
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