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Multiple suitors are weighing bids to challenge the $575 million offer for Performance Sports Group Ltd. made by a financial consortium in the bankruptcy court auction of the Bauer hockey gear maker, Reuters reported yesterday. Private equity firms Thomas H. Lee Partners LP, Bain Capital LP, KKR & Co LP, KPS Capital Partners LP, and Sycamore Partners have indicated their interest in the sporting goods company, the people said. The sources could not be named because the talks are private. The auction is scheduled for Jan. 30. British retailer Sports Direct International plc and Canadian pension fund Caisse De Depot et placement du Quebec have also submitted letters of interest. Finnish sporting goods company Amer Sports, which makes Wilson sporting equipment, is interested in acquiring Performance Sports' baseball business.

Houston-based Illinois Power Generating Co., a subsidiary of Dynegy Inc., has filed for chapter 11 protection with a pre-packaged restructuring plan, the Houston Business Journal reported today. Illinois Power Generating Co., also called Genco, reported $970.41 million in debts and $450.14 in assets, according to a filing it made with the Southern District of Texas bankruptcy court. Genco intends to continue its business operations through the course of the restructuring, it said.Genco was originally Ameren Energy Resources before Dynegy acquired the subsidiary from Ameren Corp. in 2013. Dynegy recently closed on the sale of its interest in a joint-venture power plant in Elwood, Illinois, in order to help pay for its acquisition of the remaining interest in Atlas Power, another joint venture.

A leading U.S. subsidiary of Abengoa SA received U.S. court approval to exit its chapter 11 bankruptcy, according to court records filed yesterday, putting the Spanish renewable energy group closer to achieving a global debt-cutting plan, Reuters reported. Abeinsa Holding Inc. was one of dozens of U.S. Abengoa subsidiaries that filed for U.S. bankruptcy protection while the Seville-based parent worked out a high-stakes plan to cut $10 billion of debt and avoid its own bankruptcy in Spain. Under Abengoa's master restructuring agreement, big bank lenders such as Santander will take equity in exchange for debt in the family-founded engineering company that invested heavily to finance a quick expansion in global renewable energy. As part of the U.S. reorganization, Abengoa will retain its control of the U.S. businesses, which range from engineering and construction firms to biofuel and solar energy plants, thanks to a $23 million cash payment by its new bank owners. Abengoa will also put funds into a litigation trust to resolve potential lawsuits and a separate reserve pool for potential insurer claims. Read more. 

To read more about litigation or liquidation trusts in bankruptcy, be sure to pick up a copy of ABI’s A Practitioner's Guide to Liquidation and Litigation Trusts.

Stone Energy Corp filed for chapter 11 protection to eliminate about $1.2 billion in debt by transferring control of the offshore oil producer to its noteholders in the face of a two-year slump in energy prices, Reuters reported yesterday. The Lafayette, La.-based company joins scores of oil-and-gas exploration and production companies that have filed for bankruptcy since oil prices began falling from more than $100 a barrel in 2014. In a filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston, Stone said that it has adequate liquidity to keep up its operations without the need for debtor-in-possession financing during the bankruptcy proceedings, which it hopes to complete in 90 days. Though Stone has said it has broad creditor backing for its plan, the company's largest shareholder, Thomas Satterfield, has said that he plans to challenge the proposed restructuring in court. Satterfield said that he remained opposed to the plan, which proposed giving 4 percent of the stock in the reorganized company to shareholders, with warrants for up to an additional 10 percent. Stone has cut spending and focused on high-margin developments in the Gulf of Mexico to try to ride out the price slump. The company reported a net loss of $1 billion in 2015 and $474 million for the first nine months of 2016. Read more.

Get a better understanding of what happens when an oil, gas or other natural resources company goes bankrupt. Order your copy of ABI's revised and expanded When Gushers Go Dry: The Essentials of Oil & Gas Bankruptcy, Second Edition. 

Bankruptcy Judge Stacey Meisel ruled that New Jersey shipping firm that once relied heavily on business from fast-fashion retailer Forever 21 Inc. can emerge from bankruptcy protection after downsizing operations, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Company executives for EZ Worldwide Express on Friday received permission from Judge Meisel to put a debt-repayment plan for the Elizabeth, N.J., business into action, court papers show. EZ Worldwide Express filed for chapter 11 protection on Jan. 13, saying that its shipping contract with Forever 21 was unprofitable. EZ Worldwide once delivered garments to 171 Forever 21 stores but now ships to a smaller footprint of 34 stores.

Bankruptcy Judge John Sherwood ruled yesterday South Korea’s Hanjin Shipping Co. must answer to U.S. creditors by publicly disclosing all of its U.S.-based assets as well as any cash that has been transferred out of the country, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Judge Sherwood ordered that the disclosures in response to a plea from American creditors who say they are being treated unfairly. The judge also said that he would grant final approval of a host of legal protections that have helped the shipper, once one of the world’s largest, jump-start stalled supply lines. The decision, which some creditors opposed, affirms the New Jersey court’s September ruling that formally recognized the Hanjin’s bankruptcy proceeding in Korea, bringing the shipper under the umbrella of U.S. bankruptcy law. Judge Sherwood’s order imposes strict prohibitions on U.S. creditors that prevent them from seizing ships and other assets without first going to the bankruptcy court.

President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to roll back the Obama administration’s signature proposal for reducing greenhouse gas emissions will be a boon to creditors of Peabody Energy Corp., according to bondholders who want a say in the coal miner’s debt restructuring, the Wall Street Journal reported today. The bondholders cite Trump’s election, as well as a rally in coal prices, to argue in a recent court filing that the value of Peabody’s business has “increased dramatically” since the miner sought chapter 11 protection. As a result, the bondholders say that there should be ample value to pay them at the conclusion of Peabody’s restructuring. According to one company shareholder, metallurgical coal prices have increased 235 percent, and thermal coal prices have increased 77 percent since Peabody filed for bankruptcy in April. Peabody’s bondholders, however, are also buoyed by Trump’s promises to “bring back coal 100 percent” and to reverse Obama-era rules that sought to reduce carbon emissions at power plants fueled by burning coal and other fossil fuels. Peabody has argued in federal appeals court that the rules, which are a component of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan to address global climate change, are unconstitutional and will “irreparably harm” its business.

American Apparel LLC won court approval to use the rest of its $30 million bankruptcy loan after the retailer resolved issues with its unsecured creditors, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Bankruptcy Judge Brendan Shannon yesterday signed off on the loan and said that he “appreciated” the revised court papers and agreements made among the creditors, debtors and pre-bankruptcy lenders. The retailer secured a $30 million financing package from post-bankruptcy lender Encina Business Credit LLC to fund the costs of its chapter 11 case prior to its November bankruptcy filing. Judge Shannon earlier gave approval for the company to use up to $10 million of the loan.