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September 13,
2006
id='1'>Creditors Approve Owens Corning’s Reorganization
Plan
Owens Corning’s
proposed reorganization plan received a boost Monday when the
company’s financial creditors voted to approve it,
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Portfolio Media
size='3'>reported yesterday. Owens Corning’s voter solicitation
period ended on Sept. 1, and a confirmation hearing on the
company’s restructuring plan is slated for Sept.
18.The
company, which has been in bankruptcy proceedings since Oct. 5,
2000, said it could possibly emerge from chapter 11 this year.
However, Owens Corning’s plan still has its detractors; at least
15 objections have been filed regarding the company’s proposed
plan, including the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Department
of Labor and the U.S. Trustee overseeing its chapter 11 proceedings. The
case is In re
size='3'>Owens Corning, et al., case number
00-03837, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of
Delaware.
Grants Auction of Titan Financial Group
Setting bankrupt Titan
Financial Group LLC’s proceedings on the fast track, Judge
Mary Grace Diehl
has cleared the way for the company to auction its assets
and use $9.6 million in debtor-in-possession
(DIP) financing,
size='3'>Portfolio Media reported yesterday.
The Atlanta-based consumer lender, which filed for
bankruptcy Sept. 3, is still inviting offers for its Oct. 3 auction. The
company, which plans to sell most of its assets and then liquidate, did
not establish a price floor yet because it does not have a
stalking-horse bidder for the auction. The court will hear the matter
involving Titan’s DIP from pre-petition lender Bank of America
Corp. on Sept. 27. The loan matures at the end of October, and the
facility even accounts for $325,000 for professional fees, according to
court documents. The case is
size='3'>Titan Financial Group II LLC, case
number 06-70852-mgd, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern
District of Georgia.
Autos
id='3'>Tower Fights Fuji’s Motion for Relief from
Stay
Tower Automotive Inc.
filed an objection on Monday to Fuji Dietec Corp.’s motion for
relief from the automatic stay in the chapter 11 case,
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Portfolio Media
size='3'>reported yesterday.
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Fuji
attorneys claimed that it had “valid liens against a number of
tools in the possession of the debtors.”
w:st='on'>Fuji
attorneys also argued that Tower should not be allowed to
dispute the debt that it owes
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Fuji
entered into an “accord and satisfaction” in September 2004.
However, Fuji owes Tower money as a result of the September
2004 accord, Tower attorneys said .
Tower’s attorneys also argue that
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Fuji,
the Troy, Mich.-based
w:st='on'>
size='3'>U.S.
size='3'>subsidiary of the Japanese toolmaker, has waived its lien
rights.
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Fuji
size='3'>is claiming $4.75 million as the total amount of all its liens
owed by Tower, according to court filings.
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Fuji
argued on Sept. 19 over the validity of
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Fuji
alleged liens. The case is
size='3'>In re Tower Automotive Inc., case
number 05-10578, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District
of New York.
size='3'>Ford May Cut Salaried Costs 30
Percent as Restructuring Push Accelerates
Ford Motor Co. will
aim to cut white-collar staffing, benefits and other costs by 30 percent
as part of a broader restructuring plan that the company's board of
directors is expected to begin reviewing today, the
face='Times New Roman'
size='3'>Wall Street Journal reported today.
Ford's board also is expected to hear details about a new
vehicle-pricing strategy, which will focus on keeping prices closer to
the suggested retail price amid a cut in production, said one of the
people familiar with the matter. Details of its cost-cutting efforts
could be disclosed as soon as Friday.
href='http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115809933664861126.html?mod=home_whats_news_us'>Read
more . (Registration required.)
id='5'>Analysis: Delta Becomes Leaner While Extending International
Reach
Delta Air Lines is a
smaller, more international airline nearly one year after filing for
bankruptcy protection,
size='3'>USA Today reported today. The
Atlanta-based carrier has trimmed costs by eliminating jobs, cutting
pay, reducing flying capacity and shedding pensions. International
routes account for one-third of Delta's flying capacity and 35 percent
of its revenue. A year ago, the airline directed just 26 percent of its
capacity to international flights and only 20 percent of revenue came
from international flying. Some Wall Street analysts who criticized
Delta's slow start on reorganizing in chapter 11 are now optimistic that
the airline can emerge from bankruptcy in mid-2007.
href='http://www.usatoday.com/money/biztravel/2006-09-12-delta-changes_x.htm'>Read
more .
id='6'>SeraCare Shareholders Allowed to File Reorganization
Plan
SeraCare Life Sciences
Inc. lost exclusive control over its chapter 11 case on Friday after a
judge in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in
w:st='on'>
Diego
to file their own reorganization plan for the company,
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Portfolio Media
size='3'>reported yesterday. Judge Louise
DeCarl Adler’s ruling ends
SeraCare’s right to file a chapter 11 reorganization plan, despite
requests from the company to extend its deadline through Oct. 18. The
unofficial shareholders’ committee, which owns approximately 28.5
percent of SeraCare’s shares, made its request to take over
planning in the court in late August. The court had given SeraCare until
Oct. 25 to lobby for creditor support for its plan. SeraCare became
entangled in the battle for control with its shareholders after seeking
court approval of a loan from a syndicate of investors to fund its exit
from chapter 11.
id='7'>Failed Hedge-Fund Firm Bayou Sues Investors to Return
Money
An investment fund is
being sued to return about $30 million to Bayou Management LLC, a
failed
face='Times New Roman'
size='3'>Connecticut
size='3'>hedge-fund firm, the
size='3'>Wall Street Journal reported
today. Jeff
Marwil, the trustee liquidating Bayou, filed
the lawsuit against the fund, Sterling Stamos, last week in the U.S.
Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. It is the
biggest of more than 120 complaints filed by the trustee in recent
months against investors who got out of Bayou before it collapsed. The
lawsuits seek to reclaim not only the initial investments but also the
profits of investors who cashed out. Collectively, these suits seek to
reclaim more than $150 million.
href='http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115810478779561307-search.html?KEYWORDS=bankruptcy&COLLECTION=wsjie/6month'>Read
more . (Registration required.)
Bankruptcy Settlement May Be Imminent
Refco Inc. is close to
reaching an agreement with creditors, a move that would be a major step
toward concluding the brokerage's nearly year- long bankruptcy, Reuters
reported yesterday. A plan could be filed as soon as tomorrow. The
parties are expected to update Bankruptcy Judge
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Robert Drain
size='3'>on Thursday on the status of talks of how $2.4 billion held by
Refco Capital Markets will be distributed.
href='http://asia.news.yahoo.com/060912/3/2psp8.html'>Read more
.
size='3'>Florida Theme Park Files for Chapter
11
Cypress Gardens, the
70-year-old Central Florida theme park saved from the wrecking ball two
years ago, has filed for chapter 11, citing debts incurred after it was
hit by three hurricanes in 2004, the Tampa
Tribune reported today. The park's owner and
bankruptcy attorney blame an insurance company for refusing to pay most
of the $24.8 million in hurricane damage they say was caused by
Hurricanes
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Charley
size='3'>,
size='3'>Frances
size='3'>and Jeanne. Cypress Gardens’ attorney
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Ward Stone Jr.
said the bankruptcy filing involved Cypress Gardens and Wild Adventures,
a sister theme park in Valdosta, Ga., as well as the umbrella
company for both parks, Adventure Parks Group. The theme parks have $70
million in secured loans and about $8 million in unsecured loans. The
bankruptcy filing indicated that
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Cypress
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Gardens
size='3'>owes more than $50 million to creditors, including $635,000 in
taxes to the state of
size='3'>Florida
an
size='3'>landscaping company.
href='http://www.tbo.com/news/nationworld/MGB6AFQ61SE.html'>Read
more .
id='10'>New York Racing Association Faces
Bankruptcy
The New York Racing
Association (NYRA) faces bankruptcy by the end of the year unless $19
million in state loans is released to keep it solvent, the
Albany Times-Union
reported yesterday. NYRA doesn't have enough money to pay
an outstanding $6 million property tax bill from
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Nassau
face='Times New Roman'
size='3'>County
owes $12 million in pension payments, NYRA President Charles Hayward
said. NYRA came within 24 hours of filing for bankruptcy last
year,
size='3'>Hayward
was bailed out by the state at the last moment. Bankruptcy, he said,
would allow the nonprofit racing association to continue to operate
Saratoga Race Course,
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Belmont
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Park
and Aqueduct.
href='http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=516204&category=CAPITOL&BCCode=HOME&newsdate=9/12/2006'>Read
more .
id='11'>RCN Considers
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Sale
Emerging from Bankruptcy
RCN Corp., a
size='3'>U.S.
size='3'>cable-television provider that emerged from bankruptcy two
years ago, may put itself up for sale, Bloomberg News reported today.
The Herndon, Va.-based company hasn't made a profit since exiting
chapter 11 protection in December 2004. With a market value of $965
million, RCN may draw bids from private-equity firms and communications
companies, said the people, who declined to be identified before an
announcement from the company. RCN, founded
in 1997, filed for bankruptcy after failing to sign up enough customers
to pay debts amassed while it built up its network. RCN is still
struggling to compete with larger rivals Comcast Corp. and Time Warner
Inc. RCN reported a loss of $136 million last year on sales of $561
million. The second-quarter loss was $25.3 million, with sales
increasing 11 percent to $157.3 million. RCN had $202 million of
long-term debt and $98 million of cash and short-term investments at the
href='http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a4zm0KXamjYo&refer=home'>Read
more .
href='http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a4zm0KXamjYo&refer=home'>