As insolvent businesses struggle to restructure their finances, an alternative to traditional Chapter 11 reorganization plans is growing in popularity. Prepackaged bankruptcies, or "prepacks," offer companies a way to negotiate and gain approval of key constituencies before formally filing for reorganization. Such prepacs typically offer a new capital structure involving an exchange of debt for equity that is hammered out between the company and its main creditors before it is signed off by the court."It's likely there will be a significant increase in the number of prepacks in 2009 compared to last year," says Ira Herman of Thompson & Knight's New York office. "The financial crisis coupled with changes in the Bankruptcy Code make prepacks a cost-effective way to resolve balance sheet issues. However, if there is an unwillingness among a secured class of bondholders to negotiate a resolution, or if a large class of unsecured creditors cannot be dealt with consensually, then a prepack is unlikely to work."