O&Y asks court for more time

TORONTO (Reuter) - Olympia & York Developments will ask an Ontario bankruptcy court for a two-month extension of the developer's protection from creditors, says a lawyer for the group.

'We intend that the timetable (for reconstruction) be amended to 30 December,' said David Brown. 'We are asking as well that the protection be extended.'

The extension would allow O&Y more time to negotiate the Cdollars 8.7bn (pounds 3.6bn) of debt on its Canadian assets with its creditors.

The court's deadline for O&Y, which filed for protection from creditors in mid-May, runs out on 27 October.

Mr Brown said O&Y hoped to finalise its restructuring plan by that date. However, none of the 27 creditors' committees has yet agreed to O&Y's proposals.

'A number of them are close to finalisation,' he said. 'I think that a number of creditors will want to see the whole package.'

Creditors are expected to vote on the package between 20 and 30 November. O&Y will ask a court on Friday for an extension of its plan to pay for the company's general, administrative and restructuring costs to 30 November.

Under the plan O&Y will continue to pay its costs by selling a select group of assets and from management fees.