WASHINGTON — A bankruptcy court Monday blessed an agreement between Donald Trump and shareholders of Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts Inc. on reorganizing the company, according to published reports. Many of the objections raised over the plan, which shareholders viewed as enriching majority stakeholder Donald Trump, were addressed in an amended version of the plan filed Sunday with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Camden, N.J. Judge Judith Wizmur approved the disclosure statement, moving the company a step closer to exiting bankruptcy protection. Trump Hotels, which operates three Atlantic City casinos and a riverboat in Gary, Ind., filed Chapter 11 on Nov. 21, citing $1.8 billion in debt. Under the latest plan, Trump will continue to serve as the companys chairman, which will be renamed Trump Entertainment Resorts Holdings LP Moreover this plan quashes an agreement that would have paid Trump a base salary of $1.5 million a year, plus a possible $1.5 million bonus. The plan also gives Trump a three-year window to serve, if he chooses, as project manager in connection with the development and construction of casinos, hotels and other hospitality venues. Also, the company would have the exclusive right to use Trumps name and likeness in connection with gambling.However, an official equity committee and company lawyers still remained at an impasse over how to indicate to shareholders that the committee didnt support the plan. The committee lobbied for a one-page letter to be submitted with the disclosure statement, a nonlegalese version of the plan, to offer guidance on how shareholders should vote. After much discussion, this was agreed upon.
