Pyrex kitchenware maker files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

By Jonathan Stempel

(Reuters) - Instant Brands, the maker of Pyrex kitchenware, filed for bankruptcy on Monday, saying it had too much debt to withstand rising interest rates and tighter credit conditions.

The company, controlled by private equity firm Cornell Capital LLC, and 14 affiliates filed for Chapter 11 protection from creditors with the federal bankruptcy court in southern Texas, with as much as $1 billion of assets and liabilities.

Instant Brands said it plans to keep operating while it restructures, and toward that end has lined up $132.5 million in financing. Entities located outside the United States and Canada are not seeking court protection.

"Tightening of credit terms and higher interest rates impacted our liquidity levels and made our capital structure unsustainable," Chief Executive Ben Gadbois said in s statement.

The Downers Grove, Illinois-based company did not immediately respond to a request for additional comment.

Instant Brands' portfolio also includes products such as Instant Pot pressure cookers and Corningware.

In January, Instant Brands agreed to pay a fine and change its marketing practices to settle U.S. Federal Trade Commission claims that it falsely advertised Pyrex glass measuring cups as "Made in USA" while importing some of them from China.

Davis Polk & Wardwell is Instant Brands' law firm, and AlixPartners is its restructuring adviser.

The case is In re: Instant Brands Acquisition Holdings Inc, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of Texas, No. 23-bk-90716.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Bill Berkrot)