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Saladworks Receives Auction Approvals over Objections

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A bankruptcy judge granted a number of requests from fresh salad franchiser Saladworks LLC Wednesday, siding with the company and its majority owner and warning the feuding parties to keep their rhetoric in check, Dow Jones Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported today. "The rhetoric in the filings is unhelpful," said Judge Laurie Selber Silverstein, who was appointed to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., last October. "I don't want to read through 10 pages of why the other guy is wrong — not wrong, but bad — and all the things that have happened before I get to the substance of the dispute."

RadioShack Warns Stockholders Not to Expect Any Recovery in Bankruptcy Proceedings

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RadioShack Corp. reiterated its belief that there will be no recovery for any holders of its common stock in its pending bankruptcy proceedings, MarketWatch.com reported today. The failed consumer electronics retailer made its statement in light of the trading volume of its stock, which closed yesterday at 18 cents, on volume of 1.08 million shares. It had closed as high as 21 cents earlier this week. RadioShack said that it believes that the claims of its secured and unsecured creditors will not be fully satisfied, leading to the conclusion that RadioShack common stock has no value, the company said in a statement.

Standard Register Seeks Bankruptcy Sale to Silver Point

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Standard Register Co. filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy yesterday and the printing and marketing company said it plans to sell its business to Silver Point Capital for $275 million, Reuters reported yesterday. The sale agreement will be subject to higher offers at a court-supervised auction, the company said in a statement. Standard Register has about $316 million of secured debt, according to documents filed in bankruptcy court. In addition, the company owes about $193.6 million to underfunded pensions and about $72 million to suppliers. The company also said that it will borrow up to $155 million to sustain its operations while in bankruptcy.

Chassix Files for Chapter 11 Protection

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Chassix Holdings Inc., a parts supplier to large automakers, filed for chapter 11 protection yesterday with a prepacakaged restructuring plan that has the support of a majority of its bondholders, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday. Chassix, owned by private-equity firm Platinum Equity LLC, had been working in February on a restructuring plan that would hand ownership stakes to creditors in exchange for debt forgiveness and would rework contracts with big automakers including General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler. The Southfield, Mich.-based company said in a court filing yesterday that it has $833 million in assets and $784 million in liabilities. Stress on its facility in Bristol, Ind., in particular, including equipment failures and delays, led to daily losses there of between $350,000 and $500,000 by the fourth quarter of last year. The company, which has more than 4,500 employees, makes steering knuckles, control arms and brake components.

Bankruptcy Judge to Rule Friday on Sale of Atlantic City's Former Revel Casino for $82 Million

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A bankruptcy judge will rule today on the proposed sale of Atlantic City's former Revel casino to a Florida developer for $82 million, the Associated Press reported today. Bankruptcy Judge Gloria Burns said yesterday that she will rule on the purchase of the $2.4 billion casino by Glenn Straub's Polo North Country Club. But a loophole in the deal still leaves the door open for owner Revel AC to accept a higher bid if one materializes before the March 31 scheduled closing date. Nineteen other would-be purchasers have expressed interest in outbidding Straub, but none has put any money on the table.

Trump Taj Mahal Survives Bankruptcy by Joining Icahn Empire

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Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc.’s Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, N.J., will survive as part of billionaire Carl Icahn’s empire under a bankruptcy restructuring plan approved yesterday by a federal judge, Bloomberg News reported. Trump Entertainment, which also owns the shuttered Trump Plaza, adds to Icahn’s gaming venues in the downtrodden seaside town, joining the Tropicana, which the investor acquired out of bankruptcy five years ago. “The Taj will remain open,” Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross said at a hearing. The decision by Gross brings to a close a bankruptcy during which Trump Entertainment found itself on the brink of liquidation multiple times. The company had threatened to close the Taj Mahal over disputes with its union. Trump Entertainment filed for bankruptcy Sept. 9 and shut the Plaza days later. It was one of four Atlantic City casinos that closed last year as the New Jersey gambling hub was battered by competition from surrounding states. Lenders controlled by Icahn provided Trump Entertainment $20 million in bankruptcy financing to help fund operations until the turnaround plan takes effect.

Judge Orders Examiner in Caesars' Affiliate Bankruptcy

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A U.S. bankruptcy judge yesterday ordered an independent examiner to investigate transactions by the operating unit of Caesars Entertainment Corp, which filed for chapter 11 this year, Reuters reported yesterday. Bankruptcy Judge Benjamin Goldgar directed the examiner to investigate "any apparent self-dealing or conflicts of interest involving the debtors or their affiliates." Creditors have alleged that the operating unit is unable to pay its debts because the parent company looted it for the benefit of its controlling private-equity backers, Apollo Global Management and TPG Capital Management. Court papers said that the examiner, to be appointed by the U.S. Trustee, will be tasked with analyzing the propriety of a number of intercompany deals that are at the heart of the bankruptcy of Caesars Entertainment Operating Co. As the operating company struggled to overhaul its operations prior to filing for bankruptcy, it transferred a number of its most valuable properties and casinos to affiliates of the parent company. Creditors have alleged that the moves were illegal efforts by the parent company to put the assets beyond the reach of creditors.

Caesars Unit Replaces Financial Advisor After Perella Shakeup

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Caesars Entertainment Corp.’s largest unit replaced a key advisor working on its bankruptcy case in the wake of a personnel shakeup at Perella Weinberg Partners, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Caesars Entertainment Operating Co. has tapped Millstein & Co. to replace Perella as its financial advisor. The unit, which operates Caesars Palace Las Vegas and dozens of other casinos in the U.S. and abroad, filed for chapter 11 protection in January to slash its $18.4 billion debt load. Perella helped craft the unit’s debt-restructuring strategy ahead of the bankruptcy filing. The Caesars unit cut ties with Perella after bankers who were working on the restructuring left the firm.

Bankruptcy Judge Orders Trustee to Take Reins at Waco’s Life Partners

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Managers of Waco-based Life Partners Holdings have been ousted, and a bankruptcy judge has called for the appointment of a chapter 11 trustee, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. The Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Trustee’s Office both sought the move. The SEC said that the bankrupt life-settlement firm’s management “lacks the judgment necessary to guide the company through the Chapter 11 process.” Bankruptcy Judge Russell Nelms held seven hearings beginning in February, culminating in an order on Tuesday directing the U.S. Trustee to select a chapter 11 trustee. Life Partners buys life-insurance policies for less than the death benefit and collects when the insured person dies. The company filed a chapter 11 petition on Jan. 20 to stop the SEC from having a receiver appointed in a suit in which the government won a $47 million judgment against the firm and two officers for faulty revenue recognition. Ruling in that case, U.S. District Judge James R. Nowlin called Life Partners CEO Brian Pardo a “repeat offender who shows no signs that he has learned his lesson.”

Australian Firm Signs Long-Term Lease to Operate Indiana Toll Road

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Australia’s IFM Investors has agreed to a $5.725 billion deal to operate the 157-mile toll road that runs across Indiana between the Ohio Turnpike and Chicago Skyway for the next 66 years, the Wall Street Journal reported today. “We see Indiana Toll Road as a critical component of the U.S. transport network and an asset that’s linked to U.S. GDP and CPI growth,” said Julio Garcia, IFM Investors’ head of infrastructure for North America. Garcia said that the deal would be about 43 percent debt-financed, and structured as investment-grade. Previously, the toll road was about 85 percent debt-financed in a “very aggressive financing structure that isn’t appropriate for the current environment,” he said. IFM is restricted from hiking toll rates beyond the concession’s so-called tolling mechanism, which ensures that any increases are closely tied to inflation. The 59-year-old road filed for bankruptcy last September after struggling for years with a heavy debt load and lower-than-expected traffic. A bankruptcy judge in October cleared ITR Concession Co., the operator of the toll road, to exit chapter 11 and to find a buyer to help the company pay off its debt.