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NextEra Energy Inc. has emerged as the frontrunner in an auction for bankrupt Energy Future Holdings Corp.’s Oncor Electric Delivery Co., Bloomberg News reported yesterday. Energy Future could name NextEra the stalking-horse bidder for its 80 percent stake in Oncor, which is the biggest owner and operator of power lines in Texas, in the next few weeks. Oncor is worth more than $10 billion, its chief executive said in April. Oncor is the crown jewel of Dallas-based Energy Future, which filed for chapter 11 protection last April after taking on too much debt in a $48 billion leveraged buyout, the largest on record. Oncor is considered a prize because Texas is adding electricity customers and state regulators support power line investments. A squabble among creditors over the fate of Oncor derailed Energy Future’s plan to emerge from bankruptcy in less than a year. “It’s a great regulated franchise and has good growth,” Kit Konolige, a utility analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence, said yesterday. “NextEra has already done some transmission in Texas and they feel like they have some institutional knowledge in the state.”

Nearly seven years after collapsing, Lehman Brothers still has $15 billion in assets and $68 billion in claims to resolve, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported today. The failed investment bank said in a filing that it is now focusing its attention on litigation and contested claims that have yet to be settled. "The wind-down is entering a phase during which increasingly more court resources will be required to advance the process and provide final resolution and distributions to creditors," Lehman said in its annual "state of the estate" filing made with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York on Tuesday.

Aereo Inc., the company behind a now-defunct TV-streaming service, won final court approval yesterday of a liquidation plan that will divvy up the proceeds from the sale of the company’s assets, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane said that he would sign off on the plan following a brief hearing yesterday. Unsecured creditors, slated to receive about 10 percent of what they are owed, voted unanimously to support the proposal. Aereo effectively shut down a year ago following a landmark U.S. Supreme Court loss last June and sought chapter 11 protection in November. Under the liquidation plan, proceeds from the sale of the company’s assets are earmarked to pay a $950,000 settlement the company reached with broadcasters to put an end to litigation over the legality of Aereo’s business model.

Chemtura Corp., a U.S. chemical maker that emerged from bankruptcy four years ago, said it’s more likely to sell itself than make a major acquisition as it evaluates its strategic options, Bloomberg News reported today. “There is a lot of interest in the company and the portfolio,” Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Craig Rogerson said in an interview. “The reality is you create value on a higher probability basis selling than buying right now with the multiples that are out in the marketplace.” Chemtura is weighing a sale amid a jump in the volume of diversified-chemical deals in the U.S., which stands at $21.1 billion so far in 2015. That puts the industry on course for its busiest year of dealmaking since 2007, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are looking into a possible sale of the National Hockey League franchise and hired Morgan Stanley to review their options, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. NHL Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle bought the team out of bankruptcy in 1999 for $85 million. Forbes magazine ranked the Penguins as the NHL’s 10th most-valuable franchise at $565 million in 2014. “Because we have received several inquiries about the franchise in recent years, we decided to engage Morgan Stanley for their insight and counsel,” Lemieux and Burkle said in a joint statement. “After buying the team out of bankruptcy, ensuring its long-term future in Pittsburgh and creating a strong foundation for continued success, we believe it is time to explore our options.” 

Birmingham Coal & Coke Co. has filed chapter 11 bankruptcy in the face of a struggling coal market, the Birmingham (Ala.) Business Journal reported today. Cahaba Contracting & Reclamation LLC and RAC Mining LLC, two related companies, also filed for chapter 11 protection reorganization this week. Birmingham Coal and Cahaba Contracting & Reclamation are subsidiaries of Calgary-based CanAm Coal Corp. The companies plan to continue operations as they restructure their debts, according to court filings. The companies have 128 employees and have asked for court permission to continue paying them moving forward.

Frederick’s of Hollywood Inc. yesterday won bankruptcy court approval to sell its fabled lingerie brand to licensing company Authentic Brands Group Inc. for $22.5 million, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross signed off on the sale yesterday at a hearing. Authentic Brands, which owns celebrity brands like Marilyn Monroe, Muhammad Ali and Elvis Presley, as well as women’s fashion brands such as Jones New York and Juicy Couture, is buying Frederick’s intellectual property, some inventory and its e-commerce business. The company licenses the intellectual property to retailers and manufacturers. Read more.