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Perkins, Marie Callender’s Headed to Bankruptcy Auction Block in September

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The corporate parent of the Perkins and Marie Callender’s restaurant chains is closing stores and putting the operation up for sale in bankruptcy, in an effort to pay off more than $114 million owed to senior lenders, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The Memphis, Tenn.-based company owns, operates or franchises more than 400 outlets in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. It closed 11 Perkins and 21 Marie Callender’s restaurants before filing for protection from creditors Monday. It also operates the Foxtail Foods bakery goods manufacturing business, which supplies its restaurants and sells to outside distributors. An offer is in hand for Perkins and some of the Foxtail business, but talks continue about nailing down a buyer for Marie Callender and all of the Foxtail operation, court papers say. The bankruptcy auction timeline calls for competitive bidding in September, with deals to close within 75 days of the filing.

Blackjewel's Coal Assets Sold at Auction; Hearing Today

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Contura Energy has made a successful bid at an auction for the assets of three Blackjewel LLC coal mines, including two of the top producers in the country, the Associated Press reported. The results are subject to a federal bankruptcy judge's approval today in Charleston, W.Va. The judge ordered the parties to post the outcome by a Sunday morning deadline after he had heard nothing when the auction went into a third day Saturday. Bristol, Tenn.-based Contura Energy's $33.75 million bid was an increase from its original offer of $20.6 million as the stalking horse bidder for the Eagle Butte and Belle Ayr mines in Wyoming and Pax Surface Mine in Scarbro, West Virginia. They've been closed since Blackjewel filed for chapter 11 protection July 1. Successful bids totaling $59.44 million also were made for Milton, West Virginia-based Blackjewel's other eastern U.S. assets. The results did not indicate how many mines would reopen and potentially enable hundreds of idled miners to return to work.

Vermont Ski Club Assets to Be Sold under Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

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The assets of a now-closed private ski area in Vermont will be sold after going through bankruptcy proceedings, the Associated Press reported. A judge also ordered the appointment of a trustee to oversee the sale process of the Hermitage Club. Tim Treanor, part of a committee of club members said that if no funds are provided for the sale process, then Berkshire Bank will be allowed to continue with foreclosure and take possession of certain assets. Treanor said previously that members want a quick sale so the ski resort could be reopened in time for winter. Founder Jim Barnes had hoped the initial filings would allow for reorganization.

Gateway Mercury to Buy Flower-Delivery Firm FTD Out of Bankruptcy

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Private-equity firm Gateway Mercury Holdings LLC is buying flower-delivery service FTD Cos. out of bankruptcy following a court-supervised auction for $118 million, the Wall Street Journal reported. The purchase price represents an increase from Gateway Mercury’s $95 million stalking-horse bid. 1-800 Flowers.com Inc. and another buyer acquired other business segments, with all of FTD’s assets fetching a total of $158 million, the person said. Gateway Mercury is an affiliate of California-based Nexus Capital Management LP. FTD filed for bankruptcy protection in June and put its assets on the auction block. The company, whose roots date to 1910, ran into trouble when it was slow to adapt to technology advances in the industry and took on debt to pay for its 2014 acquisition of former rival ProFlowers.

Wyoming Coal Company Bankruptcy Auction Pushed Back a Week

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An auction of a bankrupt Wyoming coal company's assets has been pushed back a week, the Associated Press reported. Gillette-based Cloud Peak Energy Corp. filed a motion Wednesday pushing back its auction from Thursday to Aug. 8. The filing also resets a stipulation the company may select a stalking horse bidder for any or all assets up to two days before auction. Should a stalking horse bidder emerge, the auction will take place Aug. 19 in federal bankruptcy court in Delaware. Cloud Peak operates the Antelope and Cordero Rojo coal mines in Wyoming and the Spring Creek mine in southern Montana. The company is selling its assets to cover nearly $400 million in outstanding debt.

Cascades Pays $207 Million For Orchids Paper, Topping Hedge Fund

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Canada’s Cascades Inc. bested Black Diamond Capital Management LLC at a bankruptcy auction with a $207 million offer for the assets of Orchids Paper Products Co., a maker of tissue and toilet paper, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The auction started Thursday and closed at 3 a.m. Friday, according to a lawyer involved in the case. Cascades is already one of the largest tissue manufacturers in North America, as well as Canada’s largest recycled paper collector. Orchids filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April, plagued by an overload of debt and a new state-of-the-art facility in South Carolina that was having startup issues. The success of the bid by a U.S. unit of Cascades was posted early Friday on the docket of Orchids’ chapter 11 case in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del. The deal also includes an agreement to shoulder some of Orchids’ existing bills, including its bankruptcy financing, according to the notice.