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Bankrupt South Carolina Coastal Resort Goes Back to the Lender

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The lender for the shuttered Melrose Resort on Daufuskie Island, S.C., will acquire the failed property after fending off an unexpected last-minute rival bid at a U.S. Bankruptcy Court sale on Wednesday, the Charleston (S.C.) Post and Courier reported yesterday. A federal judge said that he will approve the ownership transfer to Odeon Singapore Ltd. Affiliated with a Netherlands-based maker of sausage casings, the firm has sunk more than $27.5 million into Melrose. Odeon was able to use that debt to bid on the 420-acre seaside property and take title to it. It set the minimum sale price at $19 million in June and had hoped to sell it to another buyer, said its attorney, Michael Weaver.

U.S. Trustee Recommends Chapter 7 Liquidation after Dispatch Sale

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A new filing in the Alaska Dispatch News bankruptcy case is an Aug. 30 request to liquidate Alice Rogoff’s corporate holdings after the purchase agreement moves forward to save the ailing newspaper from the financial brink, the Alaska Journal of Commerce reported yesterday. The motion by the U.S. Trustee is to convert the case to a chapter 7 bankruptcy, after the sale is approved, expresses concern that the people and businesses owed money won’t receive any compensation, said Attorney Kathryn Perkins, acting for the U.S. Trustee Office. She makes the case that after the Sept. 11 sale closes, Rogoff “will face no reasonable likelihood of rehabilitation,” or legalese for restoring payments to those owed money. Under a deal struck between Rogoff and the Binkley Co., Rogoff is selling assets related to operating the ADN for $1 million. Bankruptcy Judge Gary Spraker is expected to approve the asset purchase agreement in a hearing set for Sept. 11.

Fyre Festival Company Placed in Bankruptcy

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A judge has put the company that promoted Fyre Festival in bankruptcy following pressure from disgruntled lenders who hope federal court will in time reveal what happened to money they sunk into the doomed music festival and whether they can get any of it back, the Wall Street Journal reported today. The bankruptcy comes months after Fyre Festival, hyped as a “transformative” cultural event held in the Bahamas with Instagram videos of models riding on boats and jet skis, was abruptly called off. Concertgoers posted photos that went viral on social media showing an unfinished festival ground and bad food. Lawsuits from lenders, ticket holders and vendors followed soon after against those who promoted the event, including William “Billy” McFarland and rapper Ja Rule. Three lenders who loaned $530,000 sought to force Fyre Festival LLC into chapter 7 bankruptcy in July, days after McFarland was arrested and charged with fraud. He was released on bail. On Tuesday, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn in New York ordered the company to prepare documents listing whom it owes money to.

Investors in Danish Bankrupt Fuel Oil Supplier to Sue IPO Banks

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A group of institutional investors in OW Bunker said they plan to sue Morgan Stanley and Carnegie for about $80 million, accusing the two investment banks of misleading them ahead of the 2014 listing of the now bankrupt marine fuel oil supplier, Reuters reported yesterday. Denmark’s OW Bunker was valued at $1 billion when it floated in March 2014, but the company filed for bankruptcy in November that year after suffering hedging losses of almost $300 million, sending shockwaves through the global shipping and oil trading industry. Prior to the IPO, Morgan Stanley had been involved in an attempt to sell OW Bunker privately, according to a 400-page report published in December 2015 by a trustee in the OW Bunker bankruptcy proceedings. During that sales process in 2013, offers to buy OW Bunker were made at $220 million-$400 million, significantly lower than the IPO price of around $1 billion, the report stated.