The liquidation of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc’s brokerage unit could end in 2019, 11 years after its parent’s bankruptcy became a primary cause of the global financial crisis, Reuters reported. James Giddens, the trustee overseeing the liquidation, said yesterday that just 381 of the roughly 140,000 claims against the brokerage remain unresolved. Customers and secured creditors have been repaid in full. Unsecured creditors have received about $9 billion, or 39.75 cents on the dollar, roughly double what was once expected. In a filing with the U.S. bankruptcy court in Manhattan, Giddens said that the wind-down is in its final phase, and that resolving all claims and making a final payout “could occur in the next year” if the court’s schedule permits. Giddens said the bankruptcy estate still has $543 million of assets.
As the U.S. brewing industry inches closer to a record 7,000 craft beer companies in operation, hundreds of distressed breweries are expected to close in 2019 and many of those failed enterprises will turn to asset auctions as a way to pay off debt, Brewbound reported. Brewers Association chief economist Bart Watson said that he anticipates as many as 300 brewery closures by the end of 2018. According to Watson, he expects the gap between openings and closings to shrink over time, and there could be as many as 500 closures in the next couple of years. However, the increasing number of closures is “still shockingly low” given the number of breweries in operation and the increasingly competitive environment, he said. Jack O’Connor, an associate who specializes in reorganizations for Sugar Felsenthal Grais & Helsinger LLP, said that while there has been an uptick in distressed activity in the beer space this year, there has not “an explosion.” According to O’Connor, this is a sign of a more mature marketplace.
Weight-loss brand Jenny Craig is seeking a buyer as its turnaround efforts start coming to fruition, the Wall Street Journal reported. The private equity-backed weight-management company hired investment bank Rothschild & Co. to explore strategic alternatives including a potential sale. Jenny Craig is projected to generate roughly $400 million of revenue and $35 million of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in 2018. The weight-management company revived its sales growth under its current backer, North Castle Partners, after the firm acquired the 35-year-old company from Nestlé SA in 2013. The consumer-focused private-equity firm brought in industry veteran Monty Sharma as the company’s new chief executive. Sharma has a track record of rebuilding consumer brands, including Naked Juice Co. and Atkins Nutritionals Inc. Five years later, North Castle is hoping that Jenny Craig’s improved performance will translate into a healthy exit of its investment.
A company that owns 5,500 relics from the sunken luxury liner R.M.S. Titanic won approval for a proposed sale of the artifacts, with the chief executive officer leading a group that’s kicking off the bidding for the items, Bloomberg News reported. A $19.5 million offer from the group, led by Premier Exhibitions Inc. CEO and director Daoping Bao, will be the opening bid for the collection at an October auction, according to court filings. Bao is also the company’s largest shareholder. A unit of the Atlanta-based company that retrieved or acquired thousands of artifacts from the ill-fated liner filed for bankruptcy protection in 2016. It proposed selling the collection, which includes jewelry, clothing and statutes. Along with the relics, the rights to salvage additional items from the 107-year-old wreck are also up for sale. Bankruptcy Judge Paul Glenn Tuesday ruled executives of the Premier unit will have until mid-October to accept bids for the collection, which had once been valued at almost $190 million.
The brand name of specialty retailer Brookstone Inc. will go up for auction with a lead bid from Bluestar Alliance LLC, which recently raised its offer for the third time, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy. Brand-licensing firm Bluestar increased its bid to $56.35 million from $43 million, according to court papers filed on Thursday. The offer includes at least $50.45 million in cash and at least $5.9 million of value “in the form of readily salable inventory.” Bankruptcy Judge Brendan Shannon of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., approved Bluestar’s offer as the baseline bid in an auction scheduled for Sept. 26. Early last week, Brookstone received a $35 million offer from Authentic Brands Group Inc. for its brand, which included “an express interest” in finding a partner to keep the retail business alive.
Oaktree Capital Management LP, a junior bondholder in the Claire’s Stores Inc. bankruptcy, followed through on plans to make a bid for the retailer, while a rival group just sweetened the pot for unsecured creditors, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Oaktree last month said in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., that it was trying to put together a $1.5 billion bid for the teen retailer to rival one already on the table from a group of senior bondholders. Oaktree, an investment firm that holds $159 million in Claire’s secured second-lien notes, has long opposed the teen retailer’s existing reorganization plan, saying the restructuring agreement favors senior bondholders, including lead investor Elliott Management Corp., as well as private-equity firm Apollo Management Holdings LP. Apollo holds Claire’s equity as well as some of its debt. The debt-for-equity swap under the original plan has been valued at about $1.4 billion.
Bon-Ton, the more than century-old department store chain that declared bankruptcy in February and shut its doors Wednesday, may be close to a comeback, USA Today reported. The rights to relaunch the retailer and its subsidiary brands are close to being acquired. The reinvented Bon-Ton would be a sleeker business more focused on e-commerce, according to sources. While it will be centered around its website, there are also plans to reopen physical locations in Illinois, Colorado, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. Services like personal styling will be offered, and stores will be open for a shorter time most week days, and for extended hours from Thursday to Sunday. Former Bon-Ton employees would get first dibs on re-staffing those locations. If given the green light by the bankruptcy court, Bon-Ton, and the retail chains under its corporate umbrella — Boston Store, Carson’s, Bergner’s, Elder-Beerman, Younkers, and Herberger’s — would be revived about seven months after Bon-Ton filed for bankruptcy protection.