 | | Featured Premium Content | | | | | Debtwire: Franchise Group Judge’s Ruling Denying Willkie, Farr & Gallagher’s Retention: Learning the Hard Way When Ethical Walls, Waivers, and Conflicts Counsel Can Be Inadequate Fixes
Every firm’s conflicts department should take note of Judge Laurie Selber Silverstein’s recent ruling denying Franchise Group’s (FRG) application to retain Willkie, Farr & Gallagher as lead counsel on the grounds that Willkie was conflicted. Even though Willkie took all the steps that firms typically take in similar situations — retaining conflicts counsel and implementing an ethical wall — Judge Silverstein, who presides in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, ruled that this simply wasn’t enough. She found that Willkie could not represent FRG because it suffered from conflicts of interest pertaining to matters that were so integral to the formulation of FRG’s chapter 11 plan that they could not be dealt with by the retention of conflicts counsel or the implementation of an ethical wall. READ MORE | | |  | | Editor's Picks | | | | | Sunnova Bondholders Hire Counsel Following KKR Deal, Going-Concern Warning
A group of bondholders in Sunnova Energy International has organized and hired legal counsel after the rooftop solar panel company issued a going-concern notice and said it raised financing from KKR, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The group of creditors, including holders of the company’s 2026 bonds and convertibles, is working with law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld to evaluate options and prepare for negotiations with the company. Sunnova, which has more than $8 billion of total debt, faces pressure to refinance roughly $1 billion in bonds maturing next year. READ MORE | | On The Border Becomes the Latest Restaurant Chain in Bankruptcy
On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina became the latest U.S. casual-dining chain to file for bankruptcy amid surging labor costs, falling customer traffic and inflationary pressures, Bloomberg News reported. Atlanta-based OTB Holding sought chapter 11 protection in Georgia on Tuesday, according to court papers. It listed $10 million to $50 million in both estimated assets and liabilities. READ MORE | | Apollo-Backed EmployBridge Hires Advisers, Completes Debt Transaction
Apollo Global Management-backed temporary staffing company EmployBridge completed a deal that provides new capital and extends a debt maturity, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The Duluth, Ga.-based contract employment agency this week was issued $325 million in new money and exchanged existing term loans due in 2028 for new term loans due 2030. READ MORE
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April 24-26 | Washington, D.C. | | | | |  | | Daily Roundup | | | | | Private Credit Eases Off Mega Loan Deals as Banks Regain Ground
Private credit firms are looking for new avenues of growth after years of rapid expansion as they lose ground to banks that are regaining market share in corporate lending, Bloomberg News reported. Direct lenders have made strides in recent years snatching up market share in funding large corporations as banks retreated under tighter regulation. But since the second half of last year, banks have regained ground, outpacing direct lenders in lucrative mega loans. In the first two months of 2025, banks increasingly replaced private debt with syndicated loans, reversing last year’s trend, PitchBook LCD data show. READ MORE | | Silicon Valley Bank's Former Parent Sues to Reclaim Tarnished Brand
The North Carolina lender that bought much of Silicon Valley Bank following its March 2023 seizure was sued for trademark infringement on Wednesday by the collapsed bank's former parent, Reuters reported. SVB Financial Trust said First Citizens BancShares never acquired or got permission to use the Silicon Valley Bank name, chevron logo, svb.com domain name and "Make Next Happen Now" slogan when it bought many of the bank's assets at a discount, in a transaction arranged by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The lawsuit in San Francisco federal court seeks to reclaim SVB's marks, and obtain damages and royalties to distribute to creditors. SVB emerged from chapter 11 bankruptcy in November. READ MORE | | U.S. Factory Orders Rebound in January on Commercial Aircraft
New orders for U.S.-manufactured goods rebounded in January amid a surge in commercial aircraft bookings, but the broader manufacturing sector's recovery is likely to be hampered by tariffs on imports, Reuters reported. Factory orders increased 1.7% after a revised 0.6% decline in December, the Commerce Department's Census Bureau said on Wednesday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast factory orders increasing 1.6% after a previously reported 0.9% drop in December. READ MORE | | Trump to Pause Auto Tariffs for One Month as Other Levies Continue
President Trump said on Wednesday that he would pause tariffs on cars coming into the United States from Canada and Mexico for one month, after a 25 percent tariff that he placed on America’s closest trading partners a day earlier roiled stock markets and prompted stiff resistance from industry, the New York Times reported. Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, read a statement from Mr. Trump on Wednesday saying that White House had spoken with the three largest auto makers, and that a one-month exemption would be given to cars coming in through United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. READ MORE | | Businesses Told Fed They Will Raise Prices with Onset of Trump's Tariffs
Businesses large and small are signaling they could raise prices with the onset of President Donald Trump's tariffs even if consumers can’t swallow it, YahooFinance.com reported. At least that is the view of companies that participated in the Federal Reserve's latest Beige Book, which collects anecdotal evidence across the Fed’s 12 regional bank districts. READ MORE | | | | |
