Spanish energy company Abengoa SA has filed for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. as it continues talks with its banks and bondholders to agree on its plan to restructure billions of dollars in debt.

The renewable energy company Monday night filed for chapter 15 protection, the section of the U.S. bankruptcy code dealing with cross-border insolvencies, in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del.

The bankruptcy filing comes after Abengoa said Monday in a regulatory filing that it had won more time to continue negotiations with creditors on restructuring its debts, which total more than €14.6 billion, according to court papers.

Under a restructuring plan floated to creditors, the new Abengoa would cut costs and shed noncore assets and emerge as a slimmer business valued at €5.395 billion.

Abengoa is one of the world's top builders of power lines transporting energy across Latin America and a top engineering and construction business, making large renewable-energy power plants in places from Kansas to the U.K.

The embattled company, the flagship of Spain's renewable energy industry, has been in talks for months with creditors to avoid what would be one of the country's biggest bankruptcies.

In November, the company sought preliminary protection under Spanish insolvency law and is working with creditors on the parameters of a restructuring plan.

Under chapter 15, a company seeks a U.S. bankruptcy court's recognition of a foreign bankruptcy case—in this case the Spanish proceeding—as the main, or controlling, case. If recognized by a U.S. judge, the Seville-based energy company will receive the benefits of U.S. bankruptcy law, including the so-called automatic stay that halts lawsuits and prevents creditors from seizing assets.

Abengoa, which has last month put some of its U.S. business into chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, said it also intends to put its remaining U.S. registered affiliates into chapter 11 protection.

Abengoa's financial woes trace back to Spain's boom years, when the company began to build such projects for itself, fueled by cheaper bank loans and a desire to expand. The company took on billions of dollars of debt in anticipation of a growth rate that didn't materialize.

Write to Patrick Fitzgerald at patrick.fitzgerald@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 29, 2016 09:25 ET (13:25 GMT)

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