 | | Featured Premium Content | | | | | Debtwire: High-Cost DIP Loans and Unique Structures Shape Bankruptcy Financing in Early 2025
The beginning of 2025 has brought with it at least 15 debtors seeking to finance their chapter 11 cases with debtor-in-possession financing, according to Debtwire’s Restructuring Database, and 11 debtors receiving approval of their DIP financing packages proposed before the new year. Certain trends and notable features have emerged across recent cases, even though the year is not yet two months old. Indeed, most DIP facilities proposed this year are notable for their exceptionally steep costs with many carrying interest rates above 15%, and one case featuring fees exceeding 20% of the facility. READ MORE | | | | | SPONSORED CONTENTThe Pervasive Repricing Wave of 2024 Will Likely Continue Into 2025What role will investors play? What is the impact on lenders? Will declining interest rates end the trend? SRS Acquiom explores the dynamics driving the wave of repricings and equips you with the insights you need to determine whether a repricing strategy is right for your loan. DOWNLOAD THE INSIGHTS | | |  | | Editor's Picks | | | | | Aero Parts Maker for Stealth Bomber, SpaceX Files for Bankruptcy
Dynamic Aerostructures, which makes specialized parts for U.S. fighter jets and SpaceX and Blue Origin spacecraft, filed for bankruptcy with plans to sell itself at a court-supervised auction, Bloomberg News reported. The aerospace and defense supplier is backed by private equity firm Endeavour Capital. Its operating unit Forrest Machining LLC, also known as FMI Aerostructures, was bought by Endeavour in 2021. READ MORE | | Infowars Bidders Circling Again After Failed Bankruptcy Sale
Alex Jones’s Infowars has drawn fresh interest despite a court ruling blocking previous sale attempts and roughly $1 billion in judgments against the company, the WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Puerto Rico-based artificial intelligence entertainment company WOW.AI. said in a court filing Wednesday that it submitted a bid to the trustee overseeing Alex Jones’s bankruptcy for the assets of Free Speech Systems, which owns the conspiracy website. WOW.AI said it is seeking to acquire the assets through a court-mandated sale process. READ MORE | | FTX’s $950 Million Bankruptcy Fees Among Costliest Since Lehman
The cost of FTX’s bankruptcy is approaching $1 billion, cementing the implosion of Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto enterprise as one of costliest chapter 11 cases in U.S. history, Bloomberg News reported. Nearly $948 million was paid to more than a dozen firms hired to work on the bankruptcy through Jan. 2, and more than $952 million in fees have been approved by the court, records show. READ MORE
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May 14-15 | Las Vegas, Nevada | | | | |  | | Daily Roundup | | | | | Chicago City Council Passes Controversial $830 Million Bond Plan
Chicago’s City Council on Wednesday approved Mayor Brandon Johnson’s controversial proposal to sell $830 million in bonds for infrastructure costs despite concerns about the debt’s delayed repayment schedule and who would get to use the proceeds, Bloomberg News reported. The ordinance passed 26 to 23. The finance committee had approved the proposal earlier this month but last week aldermen delayed the full City Council vote given criticism of a plan to start principal payments on the debt in about two decades. READ MORE | | Cryptocurrency Firm Founder Extradited from Portugal to Face U.S. Fraud Charges
The founder of a cryptocurrency financial services firm has been extradited from Portugal to face U.S. charges that he participated in a wide-ranging scheme to manipulate the market for digital tokens on behalf of client companies, Reuters reported. Aleksei Andriunin, the CEO of cryptocurrency "market maker" Gotbit, was ordered detained following an appearance in Boston federal court on Wednesday, one day after his extradition. Andriunin was indicted in October on charges of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit market manipulation and wire fraud. READ MORE | | U.S. New-Home Sales Drop to Three-Month Low on Rates, Storms
New-home sales in the U.S. fell at the start of the year to a three-month low, reflecting a combination of affordability challenges as well as harsh winter weather, Bloomberg News reported. Purchases of new single-family homes decreased 10.5% last month to a 657,000 annualized rate, according to government data issued Wednesday. Sales declined by nearly 15% in the South, the biggest homebuilding region, where several areas experienced record snowfall in January. Sales in the Midwest and Northeast also dropped precipitously, while activity in the West picked up. READ MORE | | Restaurants Warn of Potential $12 Billion Hit From Trump Tariffs
The U.S. trade group representing restaurants urged President Donald Trump to spare food and drinks from tariffs, estimating the levies could cost the industry more than $12 billion and lead to higher prices for consumers, Bloomberg News reported. In a letter to the president, the National Restaurant Association said companies would have no choice but to raise prices if tariffs came into effect, citing the industry’s already-tight profit margins of 3% to 5% on average. Trump pledged during his campaign to tame inflation. READ MORE | | U.S. Companies Announce Layoffs to Cut Costs
U.S. companies have initiated layoffs across sectors as they attempt to streamline operations amid economic uncertainties, following similar cutbacks seen last year, Reuters reported. The Labor Department's Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS report, from early February showed vacancies were down 1.3 million over the year at the end of December, while remaining above the 2019 average, suggesting that the labor market was slowing down but not abruptly. READ MORE | | SEC Tells Unionized Employees to Return to Office in Mid-April, Memo Shows
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has told employees who are union members they will have to return to the office in mid-April, unless they have certain exemptions, according to a memo seen by Reuters. The move follows similar efforts at the agency with its non-union staff as well as across the federal workforce in response to a mandate by Republican President Donald Trump that officials terminate remote or hybrid work arrangements. READ MORE | | | | |
