Peabody Energy, the world's largest private-sector coal miner, began marketing a $1.5 billion debt sale this week as part of a reorganization plan to emerge from bankruptcy, Reuters reported yesterday. The company is looking to raise the funds through first-lien debt, split across a $1 billion five-year non-call two bond and a $500 million loan, according to an investor presentation. The new debt sale will help Peabody repay roughly $3 billion in existing first-lien claims and complete a reorganization plan, that is expected to cut debt by over $5 billion.
Performance Sports Group Ltd. said today that it would seek approval from a U.S. bankruptcy court for the sale of its assets to Sagard Capital Partners LP and Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd., after it failed to attract other bids, Reuters reported. Sagard, Performance's biggest shareholder, and Fairfax had agreed in October to act as stalking-horse bidders to buy most of the Bauer ice hockey gear maker's assets and its North American units for $575 million. The auction scheduled for Jan. 30 will not be held as no qualified bids were submitted by the deadline of Jan. 25, said Performance, which owns Mission Roller Hockey and Maverik Lacrosse brands.
Brookfield Asset Management Inc., Canada’s largest alternative asset manager, has entered into exclusive talks to buy bankrupt SunEdison Inc.’s two yieldcos, valuing the power companies at as much as $2.46 billion, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. Toronto-based Brookfield offered $12 a share for TerraForm Power Inc., conditional on acquiring more than half of sister company TerraForm Global Inc., according to a regulatory filing yesterday. SunEdison formed the two yieldcos as part of an expansion effort that made it the biggest clean energy company in the world, with assets spread across six continents. The two-year buying binge left it overextended and in April it filed the biggest U.S. bankruptcy of 2016.
Bankrupt South Korean shipping line Hanjin Shipping Co. Ltd. won U.S. court approval yesterday at a hearing for the $78 million sale of its stake in U.S. terminal operator Total Terminals International LLC, overcoming objections of container companies, Reuters reported. "My decision is to approve the sale," Bankruptcy Judge John Sherwood said, adding that he would approve the transfer of the sale's proceeds to South Korea. The container companies are creditors of Hanjin and were concerned whether the shipping line was getting top dollar for its 54 percent stake in Total Terminals, which operates container terminals at the ports of Seattle and Long Beach, California, and was rushing to close the transaction. The container companies were also concerned about sale proceeds going to South Korea, where they argued their claims may not be treated fairly. Hanjin's sale of it stake in Total Terminals to Luxembourg-headquartered Terminal Investment Ltd, which includes Terminal Investment forgiving $54.6 million in debt owed by Hanjin, has already been approved in court in South Korea.
After filing for bankruptcy protection in November, the Big Apple Circus is now putting its assets up for auction, the New York Daily News reported yesterday. Buyers can put in bids by a Feb. 3 deadline and the court-ordered auction is expected to be held Feb. 7. The one-ring circus said its debts amounted to $8.3 million, against assets of $3.8 million, in its chapter 11 filing. The circus' woes began after the 2008 financial crisis, legal documents show. At its height, the circus earned $18 million in the 2007-2008 season, performing over 350 shows in eight cities and towns. Read more.
In related news, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus announced that the show is closing later this year, after nearly a century-and-a-half run, a move that may signal the final act of an entertainment tradition embedded in American culture proved itself an enduring family entertainment, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday. In recent years, the show struggled with sagging ticket sales, rising costs and opposition from animal-rights groups. Kenneth Feld, the 68-year-old chairman and chief executive of Feld Entertainment, the circus’ parent company, said that 462 employees, covering two touring Ringling shows and administrative staff, will be affected by the shutdown. Feld also said that the circus has about 85 animals, but that his company would assure they have new homes after the shows end in May. Read more. (Subscription required.)
Cameron Hughes Wine Inc. has after Vintage Wine Estates purchased the company as part of a bankruptcy court settlement this week, Wine Spectator reported on Friday. The Santa Rosa, Calif., firm emerged as the winner in a blind auction, agreeing to pay $5.5 million in a deal expected to be finalized within weeks. The proceeds will largely go to pay off Hughes Wine's debts with Union Bank. Hughes became a prominent name in the California wine industry during the global wine glut of the past decade. Recognizing that even premium wineries had excess wine, his company bought the wine in bulk, blended and repackaged it under its own label, in various limited series of "lots" and sold it at a discount. A deal with Costco put the wines in front of a loyal customer base who liked the price and quality. But when the excess juice dried up, so did Hughes' business. While the company developed a solid direct-to-consumer sales program, it wasn't enough to stay afloat. On March 24, 2015, the Superior Court of San Francisco placed the company in receivership.
