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CHC Group Ltd. filed for chapter 11 protection as one of the world’s largest helicopter operators joined a slew of oil-field services companies caught by the downturn in global energy prices, the Wall Street Journal reported today. The filing came just days after a fatal crash of one of its helicopters in Norway forced the company to ground much of its fleet. CHC is one of two global companies alongside Houston-based Bristow Group Inc. that dominate the business of ferrying workers and cargo offshore for energy companies and have been forced to shrink and cut costs. CHC operated a fleet of 231 helicopters on Jan. 31 and had been exploring a debt-restructuring for several months even before the April 29 crash of an Airbus Group SE EC225 helicopter. The accident killed its two pilots and 11 oil workers flying back to the Norwegian mainland, and led regulators in the U.K. and Norway to ground the EC225, a workhorse helicopter with a history of technical problems. CHC leased 157 helicopters and operated 42 EC225s, and had orders with manufacturers including Airbus, the Sikorsky unit of Lockheed Martin Corp. and Leonardo SpA’s AgustaWestland.

Companies in bankruptcy are typically at the mercy of the lenders that hold the purse strings. Teen clothing retailer Aéropostale Inc. is trying to tip the scales in its favor, the Wall Street Journal reported today. The company immediately took aim at lender Sycamore Partners after filing for bankruptcy yesterday, saying that the private-equity firm directed a company it controls to cut off credit to the struggling retailer, hastening its demise. Sycamore, a private-equity firm that focuses on retail and consumer investments, owns MGF Sourcing, which manufactures clothing for Aéropostale and other retailers. MGF earlier this year demanded Aéropostale pay for goods in advance instead of allowing it to pay after delivery. Aéropostale in 2014 signed a 10-year supply agreement with MGF, formerly known as Mast Global Fashions, under the terms of a $150 million loan deal with Sycamore. In court papers, Aéropostale said that Sycamore essentially directed MGF to tighten Aéropostale’s payment terms to force it into bankruptcy. Read more. (Subscription required.) 

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A Massachusetts shoe designer for fashion labels like Ellen Tracy, French Connection, Elie Tahari and other department-store brands has filed for bankruptcy, saying it can’t afford the growing royalty payments owed to brand owners, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Lawyers who put Modern Shoe Co. and an affiliate into bankruptcy protection on Monday said that the companies face roughly $28.2 million in debt, mostly to Chinese manufacturers who fill shoe orders for Saks Fifth Avenue, Macy’s Inc., Bloomingdales, Lord & Taylor and other retailers. Modern Shoe officials told Judge Melvin S. Hoffman that they plan to stop selling Ellen Tracy shoes and proposed using bankruptcy’s contract-cutting power to terminate its licensing agreement with the brand’s owner, Brand Matter LLC. The licensing deal, first made in 2006, doesn’t end until 2021. Modern Shoe’s sales of Ellen Tracy shoes made up $15 million of its $90 million in 2013 revenue, but sales have fallen since Macy’s and Lord & Taylor stores decided to stop selling Ellen Tracy-branded apparel, said Modern Shoe President Kimberly Bradley in documents filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Boston.

Struggling teen apparel retailer Aeropostale Inc. filed for chapter 11 protection today after succumbing to years of losses as shoppers moved on to fast-fashion retailers and online competitors, Reuters reported. Aeropostale said that it plans to finance its operations during its bankruptcy through a $160 million loan from Crystal Financial LLC combined with operating cash flow, according to a court filing. The company said it expects to emerge out of bankruptcy within six months with a resolution of its disputes with former shareholder Sycamore Partners, which had thrown a lifeline of $150 million to the retailer in 2014. The mall-based retailer said that it would close 113 U.S. stores and all 41 stores in Canada. The company listed assets in the range of $100 million to $500 million, and liabilities of $100 million to $500 million.

Total U.S. commercial bankruptcy filings increased 32 percent in April 2016 over April of last year, according to data provided by Epiq Systems, Inc. Commercial filings totaled 3,482 in April 2016, up from the April 2015 total of 2,641. April is the sixth consecutive month with a year-over-year increase in commercial filings. Total commercial chapter 11 filings also climbed in April 2016, as the 680 filings were 67 percent more than the 408 commercial chapter 11 filings registered in April 2015. However, total bankruptcy filings decreased 10 percent to 70,457 in April 2016, down from the April 2015 total of 77,949. Consumer filings were 66,975, dropping 11 percent from the April 2015 consumer filing total of 75,308.

Grocery chain operator Fairway Group Holdings Corp, which has lost money in every quarter since it went public in 2013, filed for chapter 11 protection, Reuters reported yesterday. Fairway listed assets in the range of $100 million to $500 million, and liabilities of $100 million to $500 million, according to a court filing. The company filed a pre-packaged chapter 11 plan to restructure its debt and is seeking approval for $55 million in debtor in possession credit. Fairway, which operates about 15 stores in the New York City area, said that it aimed to reduce debt by about $140 million through the restructuring and retain jobs.

Aéropostale Inc. is preparing to file for bankruptcy protection this week and close more than 100 stores as the teen-apparel retailer contends with mounting losses and falling sales, MarketWatch.com reported yesterday. New York-based Aéropostale plans to seek chapter 11 protection in the next few days before May rent payments are due. It is in advanced talks with specialty lender Crystal Financial LLC on a loan to finance its operations in bankruptcy. The retailer would close more than 100 of its roughly 800 stores soon after filing and potentially more later. The company plans to reorganize around its remaining stores, but the precise contours of its restructuring plan remain unclear. Read more. 

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Dex Media Inc. reached an agreement with some of its creditors yesterday on a plan to enter chapter 11 protection, setting in motion the company’s third trip to bankruptcy court in less than a decade, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. The plan comes after months of negotiations with creditors. If approved, it will help the phone-book publisher cut its $2.42 billion in debt and simplify its capital structure, according to a statement from the company. Dallas-based Dex has been discussing a debt reorganization with holders of its more than $2 billion of loans since last fall and has been wrangling with a group of junior bondholders that considered putting the company into involuntary bankruptcy after it skipped an interest payment on Sept. 30. Lenders holding $2.1 billion of Dex’s loans must vote on the proposal by May 16, while holders of $270 million of subordinated notes must consent by May 30, according to the disclosure statement for the plan. The company said that it has support for the pre-packaged reorganization plan from a majority of its bondholders and creditors controlling two-thirds of its loans.

Bind Therapeutics Inc., a publicly traded biotechnology company working on developing cancer treatments, filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Sunday after defaulting on its debt, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Bind Therapeutics, whose backers include Koch Industries Inc.’s David Koch and Polaris Partners, is hoping to take advantage of the breathing room of chapter 11 to restructure its business, which may include raising new capital, finding a new partner or selling some or all of its technology. In court papers, President and Chief Executive Andrew Hirsch added that the company hopes to maintain a “business-as-usual atmosphere.” The filing comes days after the Cambridge, Mass., company received a notice of default from lender Hercules Technology III LP, which demanded immediate payment of the $14.5 million the lender says it is owed under the loan.