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BlackRock Said to Consider Bidding for SunEdison Yieldco

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BlackRock Inc. has joined a list of potential buyers for TerraForm Power Inc., a holding company founded and controlled by bankrupt wind-and-solar energy giant SunEdison Inc., Bloomberg News reported yesterday. Funds of the New York-based firm are assessing the value of TerraForm Power’s assets to prepare for a bid. TerraForm Power, along with sister company TerraForm Global Inc., own wind and solar assets, some of which are operated by SunEdison. Both said earlier this week that they seek to sell their entire businesses, or operate independently. The two yieldcos are not in bankruptcy, and SunEdison owns a controlling stake in TerraForm Power through Class B shares. SunEdison, which has been selling off assets in chapter 11, said earlier in September that it had reached an agreement with TerraForm Power and TerraForm Global over when and how they would bring claims as part of the bankruptcy.

SeaPort Airlines to be Liquidated, Fleet Grounded

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SeaPort Airlines, an 8-year-old commuter carrier that tried to carve a niche serving subsidized routes to small regional airports, will ground its flights as it faces liquidation in bankruptcy, the <em>Oregonian</em> reported today. The airline's bid to reorganize collapsed this month after the airline learned it would lose a key contract and a line of credit helping keep it afloat. A judge yesterday ordered the airline's chapter 11 case to be converted to a chapter 7 liquidation effective at noon today. An attorney for the airline's creditors said that its fleet would be grounded yesterday.

Global Geophysical Wins Chapter 11 Plan Confirmation

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Global Geophysical Services LLC won court approval for its reorganization plan less than two months after the company filed for bankruptcy protection, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Bankruptcy Judge David R. Jones signed off on the plan on Monday. Global Geophysical, a seismic-data provider for the oil industry, sought chapter 11 protection on Aug. 3, blaming the stubbornly low oil prices that affected many of its peers. As part of the bankruptcy plan, Global Geophysical will be split into two entities — the most valuable assets, including a seismic data library and real property, will be controlled by the first-lien lenders and turned into a new company. The remaining assets will be liquidated, and about 33 percent of the proceeds will be used to pay unsecured creditors and junior lenders. Court papers show the liquidation will yield up to $3.75 million.

NextEra Sweetens Deal for Energy Future’s Oncor

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NextEra Energy Inc. has boosted its offer for Energy Future Holdings Corp.’s Oncor electricity transmission business by $300 million, quieting creditor worries about the sale that will be the key to getting the Dallas company out of bankruptcy, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Over the weekend, NextEra agreed to increase the cash component of its deal to $4.4 billion from $4.1 billion. Additionally, NextEra is making other changes to the proposed Oncor buyout that will allow Energy Future creditors to receive $450 million more from the sale of the crown jewel business than previously planned. The changes were made in a 48-hour flurry of activity, Energy Future lawyer Chad Husnick told Judge Christopher Sontchi at a hearing Monday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., to approve the deal. Judge Sontchi authorized Energy Future to move ahead on the NextEra deal after lawyers lined up to speak in favor of it.

SunEdison's Two Yieldcos Exploring Strategic Options, Including Sale

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TerraForm Global Inc. and TerraForm Power Inc., the "yieldcos" of bankrupt solar company SunEdion Inc., said today that they were exploring strategic alternatives, including a sale of their entire business, Reuters reported. The yieldcos were not part of SunEdison's bankruptcy in April and said at the time that they had sufficient liquidity to operate and that their assets were not available to satisfy the claims of SunEdison creditors.

SunEdison $144 Million Sale of Assets to NRG Renew Approved

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SunEdison Inc., the bankrupt renewable energy giant, won court approval of a $144 million sale of wind and solar assets to a unit of NRG Energy Inc., Bloomberg News reported yesterday. The company will sell equity interests in some North American utility project companies after an auction in which NRG Renew LLC’s opening offer prevailed. Bankruptcy Judge <b>Stuart Bernstein</b> said that the deal was “fair and reasonable” given the extensive marketing of the asset package, as he signed off on the sale yesterday. The court delayed consideration of a private sale of a stake in SUNE Troughton Farm Solar Ltd. in England and Wales, to Stark Solar Ltd. so SunEdison Chief Executive Officer John S. Dubel could answer questions. That’s scheduled for Friday morning. A request in August to sell the assets said Stark would pay a negligible amount but help get the project access to financing. Bidding procedures for the company’s solar materials business were also approved.

SynCardia Bankruptcy Sale Heads for Final Approval

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Tucson, Ariz.-based artificial heart maker SynCardia Systems will seek final approval of a bankruptcy sale of its assets to a proposed buyer on Friday, after no competing bids emerged, the Arizona Daily Star reported today. Approval of the asset sale would pave the way for SynCardia’s emergence from chapter 11 reorganization. SynCardia filed for chapter 11 on July 1 in Delaware, proposing to sell all of its assets to its senior secured creditor in an effort to save the company. Sindex SSI Lending LLC, an affiliate of Philadelphia-based Versa Capital, purchased about $22 million worth of SynCardia’s senior debt at a steep discount in June. Sindex bid $19 million of that debt in a credit bid for SynCardia, plus $150,000 in cash, to buy the company. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Mary F. Walrath will now consider final approval of the sale to Sindex on Friday.

Bankruptcy Judge Rejects $5 Million Bid for Bruegger’s Largest Franchise

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A federal judge rejected a $5 million purchase offer for Bruegger’s Bagels largest franchisee, questioning in a detailed ruling whether financial professionals who put the company’s 30 locations in upstate New York into bankruptcy took competing purchase offers seriously, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Bankruptcy Judge Paul Warren in his opinion pointed out that Kevin Coyne, who runs the chain’s operations and declared a lender’s $5 million bid to be a bankruptcy auction’s winning offer, was put in power by that same lender in August 2015. Coyne took over after the franchisee fell behind on borrowing promises. After a June 28 auction, Coyne determined that the bid from lender Canal Mezzanine Partners II LP — an offer that consisted of $1.3 million and $3.7 million in forgiven debt — beat an offer from an affiliate of the Bruegger’s franchise owner itself. The bagel chain offered $4.75 million in cash. In his ruling, Judge Warren said that the lender’s bid put the company at “a very serious risk” of not having enough cash to pay legal bills and other crucial debts.

NRG Energy Wins Auction for SunEdison Wind and Solar Projects

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Houston-based NRG Energy Inc has won the auction for bankrupt renewable power plant developer SunEdison Inc.’s wind and solar projects in Texas and other states with a $144 million bid, Reuters reported yesterday. The sale is one of several that SunEdison, once the fastest-growing U.S. renewable energy company, is holding since filing for chapter 11 protection in April after an unsuccessful debt-backed acquisition drive. Bankruptcy Judge Stuart Bernstein will hold a hearing to approve the NRG bid on Thursday, a court filing by SunEdison showed last week.