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The 177-acre property once heralded for a sports dome, lake, hotel and campground has been acquired by the city of Portage, Ind., after it fell into foreclosure, the Post-Tribune reported. The Portage Redevelopment Commission bought the property for $6.6 million at an auction last week during a Porter County Sheriff’s sale. In 2015, the RDC agreed to sell the property, located north of Interstate 94 and west of Indiana 149 just west of the Ameriplex complex, to Catalyst Lifestyles Sport Resort LLC for $6 million. Catalyst was expected to pay the city $600,000 over 10 years. The developers made two payments on the property, but were plagued by financial and development issues, which halted the project. Infrastructure problems with NIPSCO right of way utility towers and plans for an overpass from U.S. 12 to Indiana 249 slowed progress. The partners in the development took each other to court and then filed for bankruptcy in 2018. Two bankruptcy attempts were dismissed by a judge. Meanwhile, the developers never paid taxes on the property, owing about $63,000. The RDC foreclosed on the loan and the state named a receiver last year. The receiver tried to market the property, but was slowed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The RDC was the lone bidder on the property at last week’s auction.

Authentic Brands Group LLC, the owner of businesses such as Brooks Brothers and Forever 21, agreed to buy the heritage brands unit of PVH Corp. in a $220 million deal, Bloomberg News reported. The cash transaction includes brands such as Izod, Geoffrey Beene and PVH’s namesake Van Heusen, the companies said Wednesday in a statement. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of PVH’s current fiscal year. PVH will retain brands such as Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein. New York-based Authentic has made a name for itself buying well-known consumer brands, often through bankruptcy sales, and revitalizing the intellectual property, online presence and brick-and-mortar portfolio. Among the company’s familiar brand names are Nautica, Forever 21, Aeropostale, Brooks Brothers and Barneys New York. Since last year, Authentic Chief Executive Officer Jamie Salter has added new names including Eddie Bauer and Lucky Brand to its family of more than 30 apparel, celebrity and sports brands. Its recent growth has Authentic considering an initial public offering. Last July, PVH said it would close its 162 heritage-brand outlet stores, which it said at the time were expected to operate through mid-2021. It said the decision was accelerated by Covid-19. Read more. 

Learn more about the interplay between bankruptcy and intellectual property with Choppy Waters: Navigating the Intersection of Bankruptcy and Intellectual Property, available for purchase here. 

EAGLE Hospitality Real Estate Investment Trust (EH-Reit), which is part of Singapore-based Eagle Hospitality Trust (EHT), has received net proceeds of about U.S. $153.9 million following the sale of five chapter 11 properties, the Singapore Business Times reported. The net proceeds have been partially used to repay the debtor-in-possession facility and the stalking horse "break up" fee, EH-Reit trustee DBS Trustee said in a bourse filing on Thursday. The balance remaining is around $109.7 million, which will go to repaying ongoing post-petition expenses and pre-petition creditors. This includes some $380 million under a pre-petition facilities agreement, as well as claims from trade creditors against these entities which DBS Trustee said cannot be quantified at this time. "To the extent any value remains, other junior creditors would be paid," it added. The sale of four properties under chapter 11 protection for $117.2 million was completed on June 3. These assets were Sheraton Denver Tech Center, Four Points by Sheraton San Jose Airport, Embassy Suites by Hilton Anaheim North, and Double Tree by Hilton Salt Lake City. Hilton Atlanta Northeast was later sold for $37.9 million on June 8.

Oil and gas producer EP Energy, which emerged from bankruptcy last year, has received takeover bids from private equity firms including EnCap Investments and Quantum Energy Partners, Reuters reported. The Houston-based company is targeting a valuation of as much as $1.5 billion. It is exploring a full sale, while also trying to sell its Eagle Ford and Northeastern Utah assets in separate deals. A deal would be the latest in the sector experiencing a strong rebound in commodity prices after one of its worst downturns last year, encouraging buyers to grab cheap acreage from struggling companies. Privately held Validus Energy, which recently took over Ovintiv’s assets in the region, has made a more than $600 million bid for EP’s Eagle Ford acreage. EP, which filed for bankruptcy protection in October 2019 and emerged from it a year later, said in March it began exploring options through investment banks Credit Suisse and Jefferies.

Indorama Ventures Ltd (IVL) has competed the acquisition of the recycled polyethylene terephthalic (R-PET) assets of CarbonLite Holdings and its subsidiaries in Dallas, Texas, the Thailand-listed producer said today, ICIS.com reported. IVL has completed all formalities with regards to the acquisition "and has taken charge of the plant effective from 11 June 2021", it said in a filing to the Stock Exchange of Thailand. IVL won a $63.8m bid for CarbonLite's Dallas rPET facility during a May 24 auction. CarbonLite in March this year filed for chapter 11 protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware citing pressures stemming from the coronavirus pandemic, among other factors.