North American completions expert C&J Energy Services Inc. on Friday emerged from Chapter 11 after completing a restructuring that eliminated $1.4 billion of debt. However, Rockies-focused exploration and production company Bonanza Creek Energy Inc. has filed a prepackaged bankruptcy plan as it too moves to reduce its debt obligations.

Houston-based C&J, a successor to C&J Energy Services Ltd., now has a “stronger financial foundation” after also eliminating $80 million of annual interest expense, CEO Don Gawick said.

“The company’s delevered balance sheet and enhanced liquidity position…strongly positions C&J to expand our business as the commodity price environment improves and the industry rebounds,” he said.

Effective Friday, C&G entered into a $100 million revolving credit facility and paid off outstanding amounts under its prior debtor-in-possession facility with proceeds from a $200 million equity rights offering. Combining its cash balance after emergence with the available borrowing capacity under the new credit facility, the company is exiting its restructuring with more than $220 million of total liquidity.

The newly constituted board also was appointed, led by Chairman Patrick Murphy and Gawick, who also is president. In addition to emerging from bankruptcy and revamping the board, C&J adopted a stockholder rights plan to reduce the likelihood of a takeover, management said.

“I am confident that each of our new directors will bring a fresh perspective to our organization, and we will all benefit from their guidance as we embark on the next chapter for C&J,” Gawick said.

Denver-based Bonanza Creek, which works in the Wattenberg field of Colorado, mostly the Niobrara and Codell formations, and in southern Arkansas’ Cotton Valley Sands, filed voluntary Chapter 11 petitions in Delaware under a previously announced restructuring support agreement (RSA) with noteholders and a crude oil purchase and sale counterparty, NGL Crude Logistics LLC and its parent, NGL Energy Partners LP.

The RSA and prepackaged plan allow Bonanza Creek to equitize $867 million of its existing unsecured bond obligations and bolster its liquidity position through a $200 million rights offering for new equity, to be backstopped by certain unsecured noteholders. The RSA and prepackaged plan also provide that the existing shareholders would receive 4.5% of reorganized equity and three-year warrants to acquire up to 7.5% of equity in the reorganized company.

“The filing of our prepackaged bankruptcy cases with the bankruptcy court is a significant milestone in the process to achieve financial stability and reposition Bonanza Creek with a strengthened liquidity position to execute on our extensive asset development opportunities,” CEO Richard Carty added.

The company would continue to operate its business as a debtor-in-possession under the jurisdiction of the bankruptcy court. It also expects to continue existing operations and maintain staffing and equipment as normal throughout the court-supervised financial restructuring process.