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D.E. Shaw Affiliate Offers to Buy SunEdison Project for $80 Million

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Bankrupt renewable power plant developer SunEdison Inc. has asked a U.S. bankruptcy court judge to approve the sale of its stake in a California solar project to an affiliate of hedge fund D.E. Shaw, Reuters reported yesterday. The purchase price of the interest is $80 million, and SunEdison expects to net $70 million in the sale, according to court filings made on Tuesday. SunEdison filed for bankruptcy in April after an aggressive growth plan proved unsuccessful. The power plant, in southern California, is not yet complete, according to court papers. Progress slowed substantially after SunEdison filed for bankruptcy, the papers say. The company will ask for an expedited auction, should the judge not grant SunEdison's request for a sale, with the D.E. Shaw affiliate's offer as the stalking-horse bid, setting the floor for others. In an auction, D.E. Shaw has offered to pay $10 million less for the stake in the plant, according to the papers.

SynCardia Files for Chapter 11, Lines Up Buyer

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Tucson, Ariz.-based artificial heart maker SynCardia Systems has filed for chapter 11 reorganization with plans to sell all of its assets to a Philadelphia-based private-equity firm, Tuscon.com reported yesterday. SynCardia, maker of the only FDA-approved temporary artificial heart, will continue operations without interruption, as an affiliate of Versa Capital Management LLC seeks court approval to buy the assets out of bankruptcy and recapitalize the company. To fund operations, Versa has agreed to provide the company with financing as it reorganizes in bankruptcy court. A bankruptcy judge yesterday entered interim orders approving SynCardia’s bankruptcy financing plan and its use of cash to fund operations, subject to a final hearing on Aug. 1. The company also won interim approval to pay its employees and fulfill certain customer obligations.

Denver Broncos Stadium Naming Rights Fail to Attract Bidders

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Tickets to watch U.S. professional football team the Denver Broncos, the winners of the 2016 Super Bowl, may be a hot commodity, but an auction for their stadium's naming rights ended this week without any bids being received, Reuters reported on Friday. The stadium in Denver is called Sports Authority Field at Mile High Stadium, named after the eponymous sporting goods retailer in 2011. However, Sports Authority filed for bankruptcy in March and put the naming rights up for sale as part of a court-supervised auction. No bidders for the rights came forward at an auction of the retailer's assets held this week, Matt Sugar, the director of stadium affairs at the Metropolitan Football Stadium District, which is the owner of the stadium, said on Friday. Discussions are underway about launching a new auction for the naming rights.

Dick's Wins Auction for Sports Authority Brand

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Dick's Sporting Goods Inc., the largest U.S. sporting goods retailer, said yesterday that it was the successful bidder in the auction for the intellectual property of bankrupt competitor Sports Authority with a bid of $15 million, Reuters reported today. Dick's shares jumped as much as 6 percent after Reuters first reported the development earlier, which ensures Dick's will no longer be competing against the Sports Authority brand. Dick's shares closed up 4.1 percent at $45.06. Dick's and Sports Authority still have to finalize paperwork on the deal, and a U.S. bankruptcy court judge has to approve it, the company said in a regulatory filing. The bankruptcy court's hearing to consider approval of the deal is scheduled for July 15. The intellectual property of Sports Authority includes its e-commerce website, SportsAuthority.com, a loyalty program with 28.5 million members, and a list consisting of 114 million customer files, according to an advertisement for the intellectual property auction. Dick's also said that it plans to take over the leases for 31 Sports Authority stores for an additional $8 million.

Lehman Brothers Said to Sell One of Its Last Property Holdings

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Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. sold the NYLO New York City hotel, bringing the unwinding of the bank’s real estate investments close to completion almost eight years after its bankruptcy, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. The buyer of the hotel, at Broadway and 77th Street, was Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp. Ashkenazy, which also operates Boston’s Faneuil Hall Marketplace and the retail at Washington’s Union Station, paid about $140 million for the 291-room property. The NYLO, first listed for sale in 2014, was one of the final properties remaining in the real estate portfolio that helped contribute to the investment bank’s demise in 2008. After filing for the biggest bankruptcy in U.S. history, Lehman Brothers reinvested in many of its properties and waited for opportune times to bring them to the market. Its biggest deal was the sale of apartment owner Archstone Inc. in early 2013 for about $6.5 billion. Lehman Brothers has about $400 million left in commercial real estate assets, according to bankruptcy court filings.

NextEra Said to Bid on Oncor as Berkshire, Edison Eye Utility

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NextEra Energy Inc. has offered to buy Energy Future Holdings Corp.’s Oncor Electric Delivery Co. and is closest to reaching a deal among at least seven companies that have expressed interest in the Texas power utility, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. NextEra has submitted its bid to Energy Future Holdings, which is working to emerge from bankruptcy after two years. Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and Edison International are among the others that have expressed interest in buying Oncor. The company may be valued at $17 billion to $18 billion. Energy Future is holding negotiations after a plan to sell the power utility to a group led by Hunt Consolidated Inc. unraveled. Oncor’s takeover is seen as key to Energy Future’s emergence from bankruptcy after restructuring almost $50 billion in debt.

Modell’s, Sports Direct Don’t Bid on Sports Authority

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The deadline for bids on Sports Authority has passed without an offer from rival Modell’s Sporting Goods and British retailer Sports Direct International, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. There will be an auction for the leases and other remaining assets of the failed retailer, but there’s little to no hope of a deal that could save a significant piece of the Sports Authority chain, which filed for bankruptcy protection in March. At one point, Modell’s and Sports Direct were in talks about a bid that could have saved 100 to 200 Sports Authority stores and the jobs of thousands of employees, these people said. That proposal shrunk over the past week, and when bids were due on Thursday, there was no bid from Modell’s and Sports Direct. Going-out-of-business sales are under way at some 450 stores, conducted by liquidators Hilco Merchant Resources LLC, Gordon Brothers Retail Partners LLC and Tiger Capital Group LLC. Sports Authority’s trying to pay off more than $1 billion in debt in chapter 11.