April 20, 2000
Consumer Credit Industry Gave $7.5 Million
in PAC Contributions
According to a Common Cause analysis
released yesterday, the consumer credit industry, which includes
commercial banks, credit card companies, consumer finance companies,
credit unions and savings and loans, gave more than $7.5 million in soft
money and political action committee (PAC) contributions throughout
1999. Over the past three years, as Congress considered a substantial
overhaul of federal bankruptcy laws, consumer creditors gave more than
$23.4 million in soft money and PAC contributions. The study is
available online at:
href='http://www.commoncause.org/publications/april00/bankruptcy01.htm'>http://www.commoncause.org/publications/april00/bankruptcy01.htm.
McKenzie Bay Purchases Kelsey Lake Diamond
Mine
McKenzie Bay International Ltd., Ft. Collins, Colo., announced it
has purchased all of the issued and outstanding shares of Diamond Co.
NL, a wholly owned subsidiary of Redaurum Ltd., effective Friday,
pursuant to a previously announced agreement between the parties,
according to a newswire report. McKenzie Bay assigned the purchase of
Diamond, currently in chapter 11, to its wholly owned subsidiary,
Great Western Diamond Co. The purchase price included 122,200 in
McKenzie Bay common shares and the assumption of all Diamond debt
totaling $1.418 million. Diamond owns the fully permitted open-pit
Kelsey Lake Diamond Mine, America's first and only commercial-producing
diamond mine, located in the Colorado and Wyoming border region between
Ft Collins and Laramie, Wyo. Kelsey Lake Mine assets include Colorado
and Wyoming mining permits, mining leases, equipment and a diamond
recovery plant and building. McKenzie Bay petitioned the U.S. Bankruptcy
Court for the District of Colorado to withdraw Diamond Co. from chapter
11 proceedings.
New American Healthcare Seeks Chapter 11
Protection
New American Healthcare Corp. announced yesterday that the company
and its hospital subsidiaries have voluntarily filed chapter 11
petitions in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Middle District of
Tennessee, according to a newswire report. New American says it has the
support of the company's senior bank group, and the banks have committed
to provide debtor-in-possession financing to allow the company and its
hospitals to continue to operate, pay employee salaries and adequately
fund operations and pay vendors and contractors. The company will seek a
buyer or buyers for the eight acute-care hospitals it owns in six
states; at the time of the filing, the company had letters of intent for
the sale of seven of the hospitals. 'There will be no interruption of
service, no closings and no layoffs at our hospitals as a result of
today's action,' said Tom Singleton, president and chief executive
officer of New American. 'We intend to make good on our commitment to
operate these hospitals for the benefit of the communities they serve
for as long as we own them.' New American Healthcare owns eight
acute-care hospitals located in rural areas in six states with 861
licensed beds.
Fiddler Ashley MacIsaac is Really
Bankrupt
Fiddler Ashley MacIsaac, who set off a media frenzy in January when
he phoned a Halifax, N.S., newspaper to say he was bankrupt, then later
said he made it up, is truly bankrupt after all, according to a Canadian
newswire report. Trustee Goodman Associates Inc. of Halifax filed
bankruptcy papers with Nova Scotia Supreme Court on behalf of the
fiddler last Friday. Paul Goodman, president of Goodman Associates,
wouldn't discuss MacIsaac's financial troubles in detail, but the court
papers show that Ashley Dwayne MacIsaac, 25, of Belle Cote, Inverness
County, N.S., has assets of $119,000 and liabilities of $305,633.68, and
blames taxes for his financial troubles. Loggerhead Records Inc. of
Toronto signed MacIsaac last summer and released Helter's Celtic in
November; the company has a three-CD deal with MacIsaac. A creditors'
meeting is to be held at 2 p.m. on May 3 at Industry Canada's bankruptcy
branch office in Halifax.
Matthews Studio Withdraws Delisting
Appeal
Matthews Studio Equipment Group, Burbank, Calif., which recently
filed for chapter 11 protection, announced today is withdrawing its
appeal of Nasdaq's proposed delisting of the company's common stock from
the Nasdaq SmallCap market, according to a Dow Jones newswire report.
The company, which provides professional equipment to the entertainment
industry, said it expects that its stock, which has been suspended from
trading since March 29, will be promptly delisted from the Nasdaq
SmallCap market.
American Pad & Paper Announces Agreement
to Sell Division
American Pad & Paper Co. announced yesterday that it has signed
a definitive agreement with Taylor Corp., Mankato, Minn., for the
purchase of AP&P's Creative Card Division based in Chicago,
according to a newswire report. The sale is subject to final court
approval and a motion has been filed with the Delaware bankruptcy court
to review the proposed sale. The sale approval hearing is scheduled for
April 28, and closing is expected to occur within 10 days following
court approval. 'The sale of Creative Card would be our first
significant asset sale this year and the proceeds will be used to reduce
our debt,'' said James W. Swent III, chief executive officer. 'Creative
Card and its Century Greetings brand are well-known in their respective
distribution channels and their products are highly regarded by
consumers,'' said John Schmitt, president of the Taylor Corp. Imprinting
Group. Creative Card is a nationally recognized market leader in
providing premium quality holiday greeting cards, all-occasion cards,
social and business announcements, and pre-printed papers for desktop
publishing. American Pad & Paper Co., which invented the legal pad
in 1888, is a manufacturer and marketer of paper-based office products
in North America.
Metso Completes Acquisition of Beloit's
Assets
The acquisition by Metso Corp.'s fiber and paper technology business
area, Valmet, of the service and after-market assets of the American
paper manufacturer Beloit, has been approved by U.S. antitrust
authorities, according to a newswire report. The final price of the
businesses was EUR 167 million, and it is estimated that the businesses
will be transferred to Metso in the beginning of May. Metso's offer was
approved in January by the creditors' committee under Beloit's owner,
Harnischfeger, which is in chapter 11, and by the bankruptcy
court in February. Beloit's roll cover division has six service centers
in South Carolina, Mississippi, Washington, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania
in the USA and in Cernay, France. Metso's fiber and paper business area
has an additional 12 sites in North America.
Illinois Chief Bankruptcy Judge Sonderby
Honored
Chief Bankruptcy Judge Susan Pierson Sonderby was honored on
March 30 by the U.S. District Court, the Women's Bar Association of
Illinois and the Chicago Bar Association's Alliance for Women as the
first woman bankruptcy judge in the Northern District of Illinois. Judge
Sonderby was honored during a program titled 'Celebrating the First
Women in the U.S. District Court,' which was jointly sponsored by the
U.S. District Court, the Women's Bar Association of Illionois and the
Chicago Bar Association's Alliance for Women. 'As we recognize the
trailblazers among women lawyers, we also want to show our appreciation
for this groups that are encouraging the next generation of women to
achieve even more,' said Chief Judge Marvin E. Aspen.
