Debt holders brace for Lear Chapter 11 -NY Post

June 25 (Reuters) - Debt holders in Lear Corp are preparing for the impact of a bankruptcy filing by the U.S. auto parts maker in the coming days, the New York Post said.

The Southfield, Michigan-based company is already in breach of debt covenants with its largest lenders, but has been granted a waiver that expires on Tuesday, the paper said.

Lear, which warned in March it might have to file for bankruptcy, has been exploring ways to restructure its debt out of court, but a debt holder told the paper he did not think Lear would be able to restructure itself as a result of the U.S. auto industry crisis.

The parts maker, which makes seating and electrical equipment for vehicles, has been hit by steep production cuts at Ford Motor Co and the bankruptcy of General Motors Corp .

Last week, Barclays cut its rating on Lear shares to 'underweight' from 'equal weight', in the belief that shareholders were unlikely to get much value whether the company restructured itself in or out of bankruptcy.

Lear could not be immediately reached for comment by Reuters.

(Reporting by Ajay Kamalakaran in Bangalore, editing by Will Waterman) Keywords: LEARCORP/ ([e-mail]; within U.S. [phone]; outside U.S. [phone] [phone]; Reuters Messaging: [e-mail]) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.