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The CEO of U.S. nuclear reactor maker Westinghouse said that the company does not expect to come out of chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings before the end of 2017 but hopes to complete restructuring in early 2018, Reuters reported. Cost overruns at four nuclear reactors it was building in the United States pushed Westinghouse, a unit of Japan’s Toshiba Corp, into bankruptcy in March. Utilities in the U.S. state of South Carolina abandoned construction of two of those reactors in July. Asked when the company could emerge from chapter 11 proceedings, Westinghouse Chief Executive Officer Jose Gutierrez told Reuters: “The timeline is complicated, but it will obviously not happen this year.” He said it could happen quickly once a solution was found for the remaining two U.S. reactors under construction in Georgia, adding that the rest of the firm was in good shape. Southern Co, the utility building two reactors at Georgia’s Vogtle plant, has hired Bechtel to finalise work and is in talks with Westinghouse about the nuclear part of the project, scheduled for completion by 2022, six years late.

A group including Apple Inc. and Dell Technologies Inc. surged to the front of a hotly contested race to acquire Toshiba Corp.’s memory-chip business, a crucial supplier to some of the world’s biggest makers of electronic gear, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Toshiba said yesterday that it had signed a nonbinding agreement with the leader of the group, private-equity firm Bain Capital, and intends to reach a deal by the end of September. The bid values the business at about $19 billion. The development is the latest twist in a global auction that has pitted three major bidders against each other and exposed a rift between Toshiba and a key partner, Western Digital Corp., which is also vying for the business. Toshiba is racing to strike a deal in the wake of huge losses at its U.S. nuclear unit, Westinghouse Electric Co., which filed for bankruptcy earlier this year. The Tokyo company has said that it needs to sell the profitable memory unit to bring its shareholder equity back into positive territory by the end of its fiscal year in March 2018. Otherwise, its shares would face delisting under Tokyo Stock Exchange rules.

Bankruptcy Judge Gary Spraker on Monday approved the sale of Alaska's largest newspaper for $1 million, saving the paper from folding, the Associated Press reported. Judge Spraker made his decision after hearing hours of testimony over the financial liabilities of the Alaska Dispatch News. In approving the sale, Judge Spraker said that it was the best option available — better than liquidation — despite his concerns over the fast pace of the process. The new owner of the Anchorage newspaper is the Binkley Co., a family owned firm in Fairbanks. Ryan Binkley and Alaska Media's Jason Evans are currently co-publishers of the newspaper and intend to keep it going.

The Original Soupman Inc., the soup chain and wholesaler made famous by the "Seinfeld" television series, won court approval this week to sell all of its assets, Dow Jones Newswires reported on Friday. Bankruptcy Judge <b>Laurie Silverstein</b> signed off on the sale Thursday, court papers show. The approval comes a week after Judge Silverstein expressed concerns about the nature of the sale process, sending the company and its buyer back to the drawing board, Soupman attorney Jeremy Johnson said. The company licenses the recipes, likeness and name of Al Yeganeh, the man who inspired the "Soup Nazi" character on "Seinfeld." It sought bankruptcy protection in mid-June, soon after one of its former top executives was indicted on charges of tax evasion.

RadioShack is moving ahead with a reorganization that will save a sliver of the former electronics retailing icon, the Wall Street Journal reported today. The reorganized company will be comprised of online operations, a network of independent dealers and “between zero and 28” company-owned brick-and-mortar stores, as detailed in a chapter 11 exit plan that cleared preliminary court review yesterday. The company filed for bankruptcy protection in March, its second filing in two years. Fewer than 30 stores remain in operation from a chain that, before its first bankruptcy in 2015, numbered 4,400. It isn’t known yet whether any will survive, or whether RadioShack will retreat from brick-and-mortar operations entirely, and depend on independent dealers for sales. Judge Brendan Shannon set an Oct. 25 hearing date for confirmation of the chapter 11 plan for the company known as General Wireless Inc., which does business as RadioShack.

Sempra Energy took a step forward yesterday in its pursuit of Oncor, the electricity transmissions business that has had takeover offers from a series of suitors, including, most recently, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Energy, Dow Jones Newswires reported. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Sontchi signed off on Sempra's proposed acquisition, which still needs approval from the Public Utility Commission of Texas. State regulators have squashed two earlier attempted buyouts of Oncor, one of the largest electricity transmissions businesses in the country. Oncor is owned largely by Energy Future Holdings Corp., a Dallas power company that has been operating under bankruptcy protection since 2014. Judge Sontchi yesterday authorized Energy Future to agree to sell its 80 percent stake in Oncor to Sempra. Sempra's paying $9.45 billion for the Oncor stake, compared with the $9 billion offered by Berkshire Hathaway. Additionally, Sempra is in line for a $190 million breakup fee if the deal sours, compared with the $270 million breakup fee Berkshire was asking.

State-owned conglomerate China Merchants Group is exploring acquisitions of offshore rig operators, which have struggled to recover from a collapse in oil-industry spending, Bloomberg News reported on Friday. As part of this analysis, the Chinese firm has looked at various assets and companies including Seadrill Ltd. and Shelf Drilling Ltd. Deliberations are at an early stage, and China Merchants hasn’t made any formal offers as it may opt to pick off assets as opposed to full takeovers. A full takeover of Seadrill would be difficult given the company’s debt restructuring, which could impact the timing of any transaction.