US-based electricity company Dynegy said that its Dynegy Holdings unit and four of its wholly owned subsidiaries had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy late on Monday.

The Houston power producer reached an agreement with some of its bondholders to complete a debt restructuring of around $1.4bn. The deal would be completed by August 2012 via a court-endorsed bankruptcy scheme.

The group’s court petition showed that Dynegy holds assets worth around $13.77bn, while its debt is estimated at about $6.18bn.

Dynegy last year announced a $234m net loss for 2010 after a drop in electricity prices following a slump in the US economy. At the start of November the group missed a $43.8m interest payment and began discussing debt load management with various bondholders.