Party City Holdco Inc.’s bankrupt balloon-manufacturing affiliate, Anagram Holdings, is close to striking an agreement with the retail chain and won court permission to sell the unit to lenders, Bloomberg News reported. Anagram lawyer Nicholas Baker said during a court hearing Friday that the firm is optimistic it will be able to finalize the settlement with its parent company in the coming days. The sale and proposed agreement with Party City would resolve disputes between the companies and allow Anagram to continue operating without interruption, Baker said. A group of Anagram lenders agreed to take over the balloon business in exchange for forgiving about $168 million in debt. Lenders are also offering to continue employing all of Anagram’s current employees, Baker said. Judge Marvin Isgur said on Friday that he was comfortable approving the lender sale relatively soon after Anagram filed bankruptcy because the deal isn’t opposed by other creditors or company stakeholders. Silver Point Capital, a major shareholder of Party City, criticized the Anagram sale when the company filed chapter 11 last month. But Silver Point didn’t challenge the sale at Friday’s hearing.
