href='mailto:Headlines@abiworld.org?subject=Subscribe me to the ABI
Headlines Direct'>
src='/AM/Images/headlines/headline.gif' />
September 12,
2006
Refco
Wins More Time for Bankruptcy Plan
A
size='3'>judge extended bankrupt brokerage Refco Inc.'s exclusive right
to file a reorganization plan through Oct. 5, as parties prepare for a
key hearing today on the status of a possible broader settlement with
creditors, Reuters reported yesterday. Bankruptcy Judge
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Robert Drain
size='3'>granted the roughly three-week extension and set Oct. 5 as the
day to hear arguments on whether to extend the exclusivity period two
more months, court papers show. Parties are expected to update Judge
Drain today on the status of talks on how to distribute $2.4 billion
held by Refco Capital Markets Ltd., the company's offshore broker-dealer
unit.
href='http://today.reuters.com/news/articleinvesting.aspx?view=CN&storyID=200…'>Read
more.
PBGC
Still Mulling Delta's $913 Million Pension Tab
The Pension Benefit
Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) said that it is still mulling whether or not
to shoulder the $913 million burden that could come its way from Delta
Air Lines' jettisoned pilots' pension plan, Portfolio Media reported
yesterday. Bankruptcy Judge
size='3'>Adlai Hardin signed an order on Sept.
5 saying that Delta had met the necessary requirements to terminate its
pilots’ retirement plan and approved the
termination. Without
terminating the plan, Judge Hardin found, Delta wouldn’t be able
to emerge from chapter 11 or continue its business after the chapter 11
process is resolved.
size='3'>The case is In
re Delta Air Lines Inc. et al., case number
05-17923, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New
York.
LG
Electronics Agrees to Postpone SGI Lawsuit
Silicon Graphics Inc. and
LG Electronics Inc. have reached an agreement in regards to LGE’s
attempts to file a patent infringement lawsuit against SGI over eight
technology patents,
size='3'>Portfolio Media reported yesterday.
Under the agreement, LGE will withdraw the stay-of-relief motion without
prejudice and will not file an objection to the confirmation of
SGI’s plan to emerge from chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. LGE
also retains the right to sue SGI post-bankruptcy. A hearing on
confirmation of SGI’s reorganization plan is scheduled for Sept.
19. LGE filed a proof of claim against the debtors and a motion seeking
relief from the automatic stay in order to proceed with its patent
infringement claims against SGI. The case is In re Silicon Graphics Inc. et al
size='3'>., case number 06-10977, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the
Southern District of New York.
W.R.
Grace Shareholders Call for Valuation Hearing
Shareholders of bankrupt
W.R. Grace & Co. are seeking court approval to determine the value
of the specialty chemical manufacturer when it emerges from
bankruptcy, Portfolio
Media reported yesterday. One group of
creditors, made up of those harmed by asbestos exposure, estimated the
company will be worth $2.9 billion, but shareholders in the bankruptcy
case came up with a larger figure at a court hearing Monday in the U.S.
Bankruptcy Court in Pittsburgh. Equity-holders have estimate the value
of the reorganized company to be as much as $5 billion, according to
Philip Bentley, who represents a shareholders committee in W.R.
Grace’s bankruptcy proceedings. The attorney for some asbestos
claimants said they are not against a valuation trial, but that a trial
would probably not be held until the final phase of bankruptcy
proceedings. Parties estimated that W.R. Grace would not emerge from
bankruptcy until the middle of 2008.
id='5'>PTCAlliance Emerges from Chapter 11
PTCAlliance Corp. said
that it has implemented its pre-packaged reorganization plan and has
successfully emerged from chapter 11, Fabricator.com reported today.
Under the plan, the company’s senior lenders have exchanged their
pre-petition debt for all of the equity in the reorganized company. In
addition, the company's senior lenders have agreed to provide PTC with a
$70 million exit financing credit facility to fund its operations upon
its emergence from chapter 11. The
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Wexford
size='3'>, Pa.-based company manufactures and markets welded and
cold-drawn mechanical steel tubing and tubular shapes, fabricated parts,
precision components, and chrome-plated steel bars.
Dana
Corp. to Sell Trailer-Axle Unit
Dana Corp. said yesterday
that it is selling its trailer axle manufacturing business to
Hendrickson USA LLC, a subsidiary of the Boler Co., for $38 million,
the Toledo
Blade reported today. Under the terms,
the
size='3'>Woodbridge
w:st='on'>Ill.
buyer will acquire all or part of operations in
size='3'>Lugoff
w:st='on'>
size='3'>S.C.
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Barrie
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Ont.
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Wuxi
size='3'>China
The transaction is subject to the approval of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court
in
size='3'>Manhattan
company expects the sale to close before year’s
end.
UAW
to Meet to Discuss Ford Plans
United Auto Workers
officials representing approximately 80,000 Ford Motor Co. hourly
workers in the United States are to
meet today to discuss the possibility of expanded buyout and
early-retirement offers under a more aggressive turnaround plan for the
company's North American auto operations, the
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Wall Street Journal
size='3'>reported today. Ford's board of directors, including newly
appointed Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally, is expected to decide on
a new program of cost-cutting and new product actions designed to
supersede the company's original 'Way Forward' restructuring program.
Ford executives have been weighing recommendations for additional plant
closures, white-collar-related cost cuts and product initiatives. Also
under review are selling luxury brands Jaguar and Land Rover. Ford said
last month that it is seeking buyers for its Aston-Martin brand.
href='http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115801994027260077.html?mod=home_whats_…'>Read
more. (Registration required.)
id='8'>Krispy Kreme Files to Delay Quarterly Report
Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc.
said that it would once again miss a deadline to file a report with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as it grapples with a
restatement of past results, Reuters reported today.The doughnut maker
said in an SEC filing that it is unable to finalize its financial report
for the fiscal second quarter that ended July 30, 2006, until it has
completed its reports for fiscal 2006, the third quarter of fiscal 2005,
and the first quarter of fiscal 2007. The company's stock has fallen
some 33 percent in the past four months as the company continues to work
through restatements, an SEC investigation into past accounting and a
decline in doughnut sales that sent some of its franchises into
bankruptcy.
href='http://go.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=businessNews&storyID=13459…'>Read
more.
International
id='9'>Bondholders Seek to Force Argentinian Bread Company into
Bankruptcy
Creditors of Compania de
Alimentos Fargo SA went to court to try to force
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Argentina
size='3'>'s largest bread-maker into bankruptcy for failing to repay its
debt, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. Rainbow Global High Yield Fund,
Argo Capital Investors Fund, the Star Fund and other bondholders filed
an involuntary bankruptcy petition against
w:st='on'>Fargo
in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in
w:st='on'>
York
owed $82.5 million, about 95 percent of
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Fargo
debt, they said in court papers.
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Fargo
size='3'>filed for bankruptcy in
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Argentina
size='3'>in 2002. The company is owned by competitor Grupo Bimbo
Sociedad Anonima de Capital Variable SA of
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Mexico
size='3'>and investor Fernando Chico Pardo, according to court
documents. The case is
size='3'>In re Compania de Alimentos Fargo SA,
06-12128, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York.
href='http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=az9wK5JtK41Y&refer=…'>Read
more.
href='http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=az9wK5JtK41Y&refer=…'>