January 182000

January 18, 2000

American Pad & Paper Converts to Voluntary Chapter 11

American Pad & Paper Co. (AP&P), Dallas, announced
Friday that it has filed a petition in the District of Delaware to
convert the involuntary chapter 11 filed by bondholders on Jan. 10 to a
voluntary chapter 11, according to a newswire report. The company is
seeking chapter 11 protection to ensure that daily operations continue
normally. AP&P will pursue various strategic and financial
alternatives, including asset sales and restructuring the company's
debt. AP&P has received a commitment for $65 million of
debtor-in-possession financing from a group of its current lenders, and
the company expects the court to approve the financing this week.
AP&P said the filing should have little impact on customers and
employees. AP&P, which invented the legal pad in 1888, is a leading
manufacturer and marketer of paper-based products in North America.

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Geotele.com Files Chapter 11

Geotele.com Inc., New York, announced Friday that it has field
for chapter 11 protection in the Southern District of New York and that
it will continue normal operations while it reorganizes and works out a
plan with creditors, according to a newswire report. The company
believes that it will still be able to begin deployment of its Voip
Network and operate its various web sites under the Bizcube.com
umbrella. These developments would help the company in creating a viable
plan of reorganization, Geotele.com said.

Golden Ocean Group Files Chapter 11 in United States

Golden Ocean Group Ltd., a privately owned shipping company,
and two affiliates filed for chapter 11 protection on Friday, according
to a newswire report. The company is a closely-held Liberian holding
company based in the Channel Islands. It listed assets of $881 million
and liabilities of $880 million. Golden Ocean Tankers Ltd. and Channel
Rose Holdings Inc. were part of the bankruptcy petition filed in
Delaware. Among the 20 largest unsecured creditors are Bankers Trust Co.
as trustee for $291.4 million and Bright Freedom Maritime S.A., which
has a $78.4 million unspecified guarantee claim. In September, Golden
Ocean said it had secured a restructuring deal with bondholders over the
$291 million bond issue, and in December, Moody's Investors Service
downgraded the company's notes and said the operating losses and
'extremely fragile balance sheet' were cause for concern. Moody's said
Golden Ocean reported a $53.9 million loss for the first nine months of
1999.

LaRoche Industries May Be Able to Avoid Bankruptcy

LaRoche Industries Inc., Atlanta, has been considering
bankruptcy protection to deal with its liquidity problems, but the
company now believes that better product pricing and support from its
lenders will eliminate the need for chapter 11, according to a newswire
report. CEO Harold Ingalls said, 'We do not expect a chapter 11 filing
at this time. Two things have changed. Our businesses have made a
significant change in pricing--they've gone up--and our lending group
continues to support the company.' The company also is working on an
extension to amend its secure credit facility, which expires
Thursday.

Dow Corning Parents Ask District Judge to Vacate Bankruptcy
Judge's Opinion

Dow Chemical Co. and Corning Inc., parent companies of Dow
Corning, filed a notice on Friday with U.S. District Judge Denise Page
Hood in Detroit asking her to vacate an opinion by Bankruptcy Judge
Arthur J. Spector, according to the Associated Press.
They argued that the opinion modifies the $3.2 billion settlement over
silicone gel breast implants that Spector approved. They are asking
Judge Hood to overturn the portion of the opinion that says women who
voted against the settlement could still sue Dow Chemical and Corning if
they choose. Spector also said he lacked the power to releases those
companies from future liability, and the settlement was not designed to
grant such a release anyway. The parent companies argue that the opinion
changed the terms of the settlement he approved Nov. 30 and thus made
the deal invalid.

Court Confirms Paragon Trade Brands' Plan

Paragon Trade Brands Inc., Norcross, Ga., announced Friday that
the Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Georgia entered an
order confirming the company's second amended plan of reorganization and
that the company expects to emerge from chapter 11 protection by the end
of the month, according to a newswire report. The plan embodies a
previously announced commitment by Wellspring Capital Management LLC to
purchase the company as part of its exit from chapter 11. Paragon Trade
Brands is a leading manufacturer of store-brand infant disposable
diapers in the United States.

Massachusetts Man Pleads Guilty to Bankruptcy Fraud

U.S. Attorney Donald K. Stern announced Friday that Allen Rosen
of Milford, Mass., pled guilty to one count of bankruptcy fraud,
concealing his ownership of real property from his creditors, according
to a newswire report. At a hearing in Worcester, Mass., a prosecutor
said that Rosen had purchased property in Milford in 1991 with his
then-girlfriend. The next year he deeded the property to her, and in
1993, she deeded it back to him, but Rosen held the deed and did not
record it at the registry of deeds until 1998, two years after his
bankruptcy proceedings were over. The prosecutor said that Rosen made
all the payments relating to the property and claimed all the tax
deductions on his income tax returns from 1991 to 1998 and that he did
not disclose his ownership of the property or the existence of the 1993
deed when he filed for bankruptcy in 1996. The bankruptcy trustee only
learned of the property in 1998 when Rosen attempted to sell it for a
profit of $60,000 to $70,000. Rosen will be sentenced April 7. The U.S.
Trustee's Office in Worcester and Boston referred the case to the U.S.
Attorney's Office.

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