Creditors want to review books of bankrupt Dura

DETROIT, March 25 (Reuters) - Creditors of Dura Automotive Systems Inc DRRAQ.PK have requested access to the books of the bankrupt U.S. auto parts supplier to conduct their own assessment of its value as it struggles to exit bankruptcy.

James W. Korth, managing director of bond broker J.W. Korth & Company, filed a motion with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware to examine Dura's books and records, saying Dura's revised plan to exit from bankruptcy gives bondholders lower returns than the previous plan.

Dura filed a revised plan to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier this month and said it would ask the court to approve the plan at a hearing to be scheduled for early April.

Citing credit market turmoil, Dura postponed its initial target of exiting bankruptcy by the fourth quarter of last year.

Korth and his clients, whom he did not identify, own more than $100 million in Dura bonds, according to his filing.

"Our clients and other members are going to receive under the latest reorganization plan, either 19 percent value on their investments -- approximately 75 percent less than the previous plan just three months ago -- or nothing depending on whether they own the senior or junior bonds," Korth said in the filing on Monday.

The creditors hope to start to exam Dura's books at the company's Rochester, Michigan headquarters as soon as Wednesday. Korth also asked the court to extend the deadline for raising objections to Dura's latest reorganization plan to April 10.

Dura, which filed for bankruptcy in October 2006, is one of the three major U.S. auto suppliers that have filed for protection in recent years under pressure from a slumping U.S. auto market and rising commodity costs.

Dana Holdings Corp emerged from bankruptcy on Feb. 1 after filing for Chapter 11 protection in March 2006.