Almost $442 Million in Fees Makes for a Costly Bankruptcy

Calpine Corp.'s army of lawyers, restructuring consultants and accountants racked up nearly $442 million in fees and expenses during the company's two year Chapter 11 reorganization, making for one of the most expensive bankruptcy cases in recent year. The San Jose, California energy company says the cost was justified by its transformation into a profitable power generator that is poised to benefit from recent laws limiting greenhouse-gas emissions. Calpine, which exited bankruptcy last month, posted $2.7 billion profit for 2007, compared with $1.77 billion loss in 2006.