4Kids Entertainment Inc. is set to emerge from chapter 11 as a more streamlined licensing agent with a fresh appetite for sports deals, Dow Jones DBR Small Cap reported on Friday. Hon. Shelley C. Chapman cleared 4Kids to make its way out of bankruptcy after more than a year and a half spent dueling, and then settling, with several Japanese companies, selling some assets and devising a creditor-repayment proposal. Under 4Kids's plan, unsecured creditors owed $6.2 million are set to see a full recovery, as are holders of $4.1 million in administrative claims. Stockholders are set to see their common stock canceled and then receive reissued shares of new common stock, representing a recovery of 69 cents on the dollar. 4Kids tumbled into chapter 11 in April 2011 amid a dispute with a pair of Japanese companies, TV Tokyo Corp. and Nihon Ad Systems Inc., over royalties tied to the popular trading card game Yu-Gi-Oh!. After months of fighting, a bankruptcy-court ruling eventually paved the way to a settlement that provided 4Kids with $8 million.
