iSolve
Purchases Inventory of Zeta Corp. in Bankruptcy Court
iSolve Inc., the business-to-business marketplace
for surplus inventory and corporate barter, yesterday
announced that it has purchased the new products inventory
of defunct Zeta Consumer Products Corp. for $625,000
following the proceedings of the bankruptcy court,
according to a newswire report. Zeta Corp. was a manufacturer
of plastic and paper products, and iSolve intends
to resell the inventory on its Web site. The Stamford,
Conn.-based company has already sold a large portion
of the inventory to Hudson Salvage Inc., an extreme
value retailer based in Hattiesburg, Miss. iSolve
is a first full-service marketplace for surplus goods
and excess capacity that offers corporate barter and
Web currencies.
BusinessMall.com
to Oppose Bankruptcy Filed by Employee
BusinessMall.Com Inc. announced yesterday
that late Friday afternoon an involuntary petition
to place
href='http://BusinessMall.com'>BusinessMall.com into bankruptcy was filed
on behalf of CCC Communications,
style='color:windowtext;text-decoration:none;text-underline:none'>Forcedmatrix.com
and ITS Billing Services, according to a newswire
report. All three entities are managed and beneficially
owned by Damian Freeman, an employee of a subsidiary
of BusinessMall.Com. The Clearwater,
Fla., company is in the process of investigating the
conduct of Freeman. "The bankruptcy courts were
not designed to be manipulated by people like Mr.
Freeman who are clearly trying to serve their personal
agendas," said Barry L. Shevlin, CEO of
style='color:windowtext;text-decoration:none;text-underline:none'>BusinessMall.com.
"We believe that the petition will be dismissed
and the company will take appropriate action against
Mr. Freeman and his related companies."
BusinessMall.com, a click-and-mortar
company, integrates powerful high-tech applications
with human-touch services to help business people
conduct business both online and in their day-to-day
real world business.
style='color:windowtext;text-decoration:none;text-underline:none'>BusinessMall.Com
said it intends to move vigorously to dismiss the
petition that it believes is filed without merit and
that management believes was filed in bad faith.
Michael
Petroleum Emerges from Bankruptcy
Houston-based Michael Petroleum Corp. announced yesterday
that its chapter 11 reorganization plan has become
effective and the company has emerged from bankruptcy,
according to a newswire report. Michael Petroleum
filed chapter 11 on Dec. 10, and obtained confirmation
of its plan on July 27. Under the plan, Michael Petroleum
has been recapitalized with a combination of bank
debt and private equity totaling $107 million.
As a result of the recapitalization,
Michael Petroleum has a new ownership group led by
MPAC Energy LLC and the Wayland Investment Fund. MPAC,
an entity owned by affiliates of EnCap Investments
LLC and El Paso Energy, and Wayland, an affiliate
of Cargill, will own in excess of 95 percent of the
reorganized company. Additionally, Michael Petroleum
has entered into a new $75 million credit facility
provided by Bank One, Banque Paribas, Union Bank of
California and Bank of Scotland. Michael Petroleum
Corp. is a privately held natural gas exploration
and production company.
Ophidian
Might File for Bankruptcy as CEO Resigns
Drug development company Ophidian
Pharmaceuticals Inc. said yesterday it may file for
bankruptcy if it cannot find a buyer or merger partner,
and also announced its chief executive officer was
resigning, according to a Reuters report. Chief Executive
Officer and President Douglas Stafford resigned effective
at the end of the day. Madison, Wis.-based Ophidian
announced in May it was suspending laboratory, product
development and related operations due to a continued
cash shortage and that its chief financial officer
and 17 other employees had left either through resignation
or termination. The company said it remains focused
on finding a merger or development partner or a purchaser
for its assets, which include intellectual property
and manufacturing assets. If suitable buyers or a
partner cannot be found before its remaining cash
resources are exhausted, the company said it may seek
to liquidate its assets.
Reliance
Considering Bankruptcy Protection
Reliance Group Holdings Inc., the 183-year-old
insurance company used by financier Saul Steinberg
to mount daring takeover bids in the 1980s, yesterday
said it might seek bankruptcy protection amid mounting
losses so it can restructure its debt, according to
Reuters. The New York company said it plans to operate
its property and casualty insurance businesses as
a run-off company, meaning it will pay off claims
and continue to seek buyers for most of its insurance
lines while not renewing other insurance lines. In
July, Leucadia National Corp backed away from a proposed
$293 million purchase of Reliance, a deal that would
have alleviated some of the company's problems. Reliance
must repay more than $700 million in debt over the
next three years, but said it has no financing arranged.
Steinberg, who owns 42 percent of Reliance, stepped
down as chief executive in February and has been looking
to sell the company since last November.
Jan
Samuel Ostrovsky Reappointed U.S. Trustee for Region
18
Jan Samuel Ostrovsky has been reappointed by Attorney
General Janet Reno as U.S. Trustee for Region 18,
according to a Department of Justice. The region,
which consists of Washington, Oregon, Montana, Idaho
and Alaska, is headquartered in Seattle. Mr. Ostrovsky
was first appointed trustee for the region in May
1995. Prior to that appointment, he worked as counsel
to the law firm Perkins Coie in Anchorage, Alaska,
as a partner in Bogle & Gates in Seattle and Anchorage,
and as a sole practioner. He has specialized in bankruptcy,
reorganization and financing since 1979. Mr. Ostrovsky
received his law degree from Ohio State University
Law School in 1975 and was co-founder of the Debtor-Creditor
Section of the Alaska Bar Association.
Consensual Chapter 11 Plan Filed
In Recycling Industries Case
style='mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;color:black'>
style='mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;color:black'>Under a joint consensual Chapter
11 plan filed last Wednesday in the Recycling Industries
Inc. (RECQE) bankruptcy case, the company's official
committee of unsecured creditors and a former owners'
group would infuse new cash into the reorganized company
in exchange for a substantial portion of new equity.
The plan has the support of the Englewood, Colo.-based
metal
style='mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;color:black'>recycling company's secured lenders,
committee counsel David M. Feldman of Kramer Levin
Naftalis & Frankel LLP told DBR Friday. Feldman
added that the parties hope to file a disclosure statement
summarizing the plan this week with the U.S. Bankruptcy
Court in Denver.
style='color:black'>Courtesy of
style='color:black'> The
Daily Bankruptcy Review Copyright
© August 15, 2000.
size='3'>Thanks for visiting Today's Bankruptcy Headlines. New articles
are posted here each business day.
