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A federal bankruptcy court judge has approved the sale of two downtown property by the Archdiocese of New Orleans, which filed for chapter 11 protection more than two years ago in the face of mounting lawsuits related to past child sex abuse, NOLA.com reported. Bankruptcy Judge Meredith Grabill approved the sales last week in advance of a hearing on the matter that had been scheduled for Nov. 17 but was canceled after neither side objected to the pending deals. Judge Grabill’s order means that the archdiocese can execute two purchase agreements with separate buyers it has lined up to acquire adjacent properties on the edge of the Central Business District. One property is the 12-story office building at 1000 Howard Ave., which is under contract to a Lafayette developer. The other is the parking lot at 1032 and 1042 Loyola Avenue, which is under contract to a local investor group. Together, the deals will generate nearly $10 million for the archdiocese, which, until now, has sold just one other property since filing bankruptcy — the former St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School in Kenner, which fetched $1.9 million in 2020.

More than two years after filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the face of mounting lawsuits related to past child sexual abuse, the Archdiocese of New Orleans is beginning to raise cash by selling some of its vast real estate holdings, NOLA.com reported. Attorneys for the local Roman Catholic Church will ask a judge this week to allow two separate property transfers to move forward. One is the sale of a former 12-story office building at 1000 Howard Ave. to a Lafayette-based investor. The other is the sale of a parking lot on Loyola Avenue behind the Howard Avenue building. Together, the deals would generate nearly $10 million for the local church, and follow property sales totaling some $1.9 million earlier in the bankruptcy process. It's unclear how far the millions raised by the property sales will go to resolving the 450 abuse claims levied at priests and other clergy who served in the archdiocese. And it's also not known what other financial steps Archbishop Gregory Aymond and his advisers will take to pay off what is expected to be a multimillion-dollar settlement with abuse victims. When the New Orleans Catholic Church joined two dozen other U.S. archdioceses by filing for bankruptcy protection in May 2020, it listed $243 million in assets and $139 million in liabilities. At the time, Aymond said that the church, which serves 500,000 Catholics across 112 parishes, needed to seek chapter 11 protection due to the mounting costs of abuse settlements and the fallout from the pandemic. Financial records have previously valued archdiocesan-owned buildings and land at some $70 million. But that estimate is likely significantly lower than what the properties would fetch on the market, because it is based on the prices that the archdiocese paid for the properties.

Garrett Motion Inc., a maker of turbochargers and other automotive equipment, is exploring strategic options including a sale, Bloomberg News reported. The Rolle, Switzerland-based company is working with an adviser on a possible sale. Garrett is expected to attract interest from companies looking to enhance their electric-vehicle operations. Garrett, originally known as Honeywell Transportation Systems, was spun off in 2018. It filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2020 after struggling with loan repayments. The company emerged from bankruptcy last year with the support of stakeholders including Centerbridge Partners and Oaktree Capital Management, according to a statement. Led by President and Chief Executive Officer Olivier Rabiller, Garrett makes turbo-charging systems for electrified vehicles. It generated about $3.6 billion in revenue in 2021.

Revlon Inc.'s bankruptcy attorneys said in court yesterday that the cosmetics company is engaging with possible purchasers as a way to exit from chapter 11 as quickly as possible, Reuters reported. Revlon attorney Paul Basta told U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David Jones in Manhattan that the company is ready to move onto the next stage of its bankruptcy after stabilizing its relationship with vendors and completing a long-term business plan. Revlon is exploring a possible sale of the company and has begun sending nondisclosure agreements to interested bidders, Basta said. Revlon junior creditors argued in court that rushing toward a sale before the 2022 holiday season would only benefit senior lenders who forced the company to accept unrealistic deadlines as part of Revlon's $1.4 billion bankruptcy loan.