UPDATE 1-Teton Energy files for bankruptcy, to sell itself
* Files for Chapter 11 protection in Delaware
* Lists assets of $24.2 mln, debt of $44.3 mln
* Expects reorganization plan confirmed during Jan. 2010
Nov 9 (Reuters) - Independent oil and gas exploration and production company Teton Energy Corp TEC.O said it plans to sell its assets to Rise Energy Partners II LLC for $18.7 million through an auction supervised by a U.S. bankruptcy court.
In a Chapter 11 petition filed on Nov. 8, Teton listed assets of $24.2 million and debt of $44.3 million.
Under the proposed plan, Rise Energy Partners will give $11.7 million in cash while $7 million will be contributed in the form of a loan. The money will be used to pay off Teton's creditors.
Shareholders of the Denver, Colorado-based company are expected to be wiped out completely unless the company gets a substantially higher and better offer at the auction, Teton said.
The company added that it expects confirmation of the reorganization plan during January 2010.
Shares of the company were down 36 percent at 19 cents in trading before market on Nasdaq. They closed at 31 cents on Friday.
The case is In re: Teton Energy Corp, U.S. Bankruptcy Court District of Delaware (Delaware), No. 09-13946. (Reporting by Santosh Nadgir in Bangalore; Editing by Pradeep Kurup)
