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Magnum Hunter Resources Corp. won bankruptcy-court approval to put its restructuring plan, which incorporates a recent settlement with a key creditor body, to a vote, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported today. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross on Friday signed off on an outline of the Texas oil and gas company's restructuring plan, paving the way for creditors to begin voting on the plan's terms. At the heart of the plan is a pledge by many of Magnum Hunter's lenders and bondholders to swap some $1 billion in debt for most, if not all, of the new common stock in the restructured company. Magnum Hunter sought chapter 11 protection in December after striking this deal with top creditors.

Natural gas producer Ultra Petroleum Corp. said that its auditors have raised doubts about its ability to stay in business and that it may have to seek bankruptcy protection in the United States or Canada, Reuters reported yesterday. Ultra Petroleum said in a regulatory filing yesterday that it expects to default on a credit agreement on March 15, and would file for bankruptcy protection if it failed to make debt payments, restructure debt or secure additional capital. The company also has a looming $62 million payment due March 1 and a $40 million interest payment due the same day on its senior notes. As of Sept. 30, Ultra had $25.6 million in cash, according to public filings. Read more. 

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Tribune Media Co., owner of 42 local-TV stations and the WGN America cable network, said it intends to explore “strategic and financial alternatives” to better reflect its value, with its stock down 50 percent in the past year, Bloomberg News reported today. Tribune’s board and the company are working with Moelis & Co. and Guggenheim Securities on potential options, which may include selling or separating assets or pursuing new partnerships and programming alliances. The company hasn’t set a deadline completing a review of alternatives, it said. Tribune spun off Tribune Publishing’s newspaper business in 2014, less than two years after emerging from bankruptcy protection. The company also has minority stakes in the Food Network and in website CareerBuilder, and it owns and manages real estate it values at more than $1 billion.

Republic Airways Holdings Inc. doesn’t plan to cut aviators’ jobs or seek to throw out their four-month-old contract in bankruptcy court, according to the pilots union, Bloomberg News reported on Friday. A potential bankruptcy filing had been part of monthly discussions between leaders of Republic’s pilots union and airline executives, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 357 executive board told members in a message on its website Friday. The posting came a day after Republic, which provides regional flights for American, Delta and United airlines, sought chapter 11 protection from creditors.

Creditors of zinc producer Horsehead Holding Corp. have weighed in against a proposed bankruptcy financing package, saying that nearly 18 percent of the $90 million loan is going to benefit the company's top lenders in the form of fees, interest and legal costs, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported today. The Pittsburgh-based company sought chapter 11 protection on Feb. 2, seeking to reshape its balance sheet for tough industry conditions. Horsehead, a recycler of steel byproducts, says that it needs the money to keep going in the face of lowered prices and falling demands for its products, zinc, nickel and zinc oxide. Senior bondholders that are driving talks about a restructuring are offering the $90 million loan, on terms junior creditors term "egregious." Horsehead's bankruptcy lenders stand to tap the loan proceeds for more than $16 million for lender and lawyer fees and interest, the committee's lawyers noted.

With less than a month to go before Texas regulators must decide whether to allow a group led by Hunt Consolidated Inc. to buy Energy Future’s Oncor Electric Delivery Co. utility, an unlikely hurdle has been thrown up, by Oncor, Bloomberg News reported today. The power distributor has raised red flags about key aspects of the deal, which is the cornerstone of the plan to allow Energy Future to emerge from bankruptcy. Oncor’s questions bolster the concerns of a long list of opponents to the deal, from consumer advocates to the Texas Public Utility Commission’s own staff. While Oncor hasn’t asked that the transaction be rejected, it said in filings with the commission that the terms of the purchase might not be good for Oncor’s customers, revenue and credit ratings. 

Chesapeake Energy Corp. said it’s been asked to post $220 million in collateral by companies it does business with, a figure that could swell to $698 million, as the battered natural-gas driller tries to fend off concerns it can survive the commodity-price crash, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. The company also expects “further significant writedowns" in the value of its gas and oil properties if prices continue to remain low, according to a regulatory filing yesterday. That would follow $18.2 billion in writedowns already taken by the Oklahoma City-based driller in 2015. Chesapeake, the biggest U.S. gas producer after Exxon Mobil Corp., has been cutting workers, restructuring debt and canceling projects as it seeks to raise cash amid questions about whether it can meet its financial obligations.

Regional carrier Republic Airways Holdings Inc filed for chapter 11 protection yesterday, blaming several quarters of falling revenue after having to ground aircraft amid a pilot shortage, Reuters reported yesterday. The Indianapolis-based short-haul carrier, which feeds flights to American Airlines Group Inc, Delta Air Lines Inc. and United Continental Holdings Inc. brands, listed assets of $3.6 billion and $3.0 billion of liabilities, court documents showed. Republic offers approximately 1,000 daily flights to more than 100 cities in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, and the Bahamas. United said yesterday that it does not expect to change its flight schedules because of the bankruptcy. American said that it is too early to assess an impact on scheduling.

Sporting goods retailer Sports Authority Inc. intends to file for bankruptcy as early as next month, an action that would expedite the closing of some of its 450 stores across the United States, Reuters reported yesterday. Sports Authority missed a $20 million coupon payment on Jan. 15, triggering a 30-day grace period to work out a compromise with creditors. Moody's Investors Service downgraded the retailer's credit ratings yesterday, and said that it views the missed interest payment as a limited default. The grace period expired on Feb. 14. The Englewood, Colo.-based company's bankruptcy plans underscore the challenges the fragmented sporting goods industry faces as it competes with discounter Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and online retailer Amazon.com Inc. Ahead of the bankruptcy filing, Sports Authority is trying to work out a deal with creditors for a loan to get the company through bankruptcy, and line up liquidators for the 150 to 200 stores it plans to close.