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Health Care Startup Acquires Patient Records of Bankrupt Birth Control Provider

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Health care startup Thirty Madison, the company behind men’s hair loss medication ‘Keeps’ and other treatments, has acquired patient records of bankrupt birth control provider The Pill Club, Bloomberg News reported. The acquisition announced Tuesday includes medical records, patient lists, prescription files and other customer and insurance information, according to documents filed in Texas bankruptcy court. Thirty Madison said the deal ensures continued care for more than 100,000 patients “who would otherwise be without options” and that The Pill Club’s patients will transition to receiving care through the acquirer’s women’s telehealth unit, Nurx. A majority of patients’ medical records and prescriptions have already been securely transferred to Nurx and its affiliated pharmacies, the company said on its site. The Pill Club, which was backed by an affiliate of venture financing firm TriplePoint Capital LLC, filed bankruptcy in April after California authorities accused the startup of fraudulently billing the state’s Medicaid program for contraceptives customers didn’t order and counseling sessions it never provided. The startup paid $18.275 million to settle state regulators’ claims without admitting wrongdoing.

Boston Wireless Internet Service Starry Emerging from Bankruptcy

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Boston-based wireless Internet service Starry plans to emerge from bankruptcy this summer with new ownership and a leadership change — but subscribers might not even notice. Under a reorganization plan approved last month by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Karen Owens in Delaware, existing shareholders will be wiped out and Starry’s lenders will own the company. For customers, however, Starry does not plan to cut back service or raise its current $50-per-month subscription rate, the company said on Tuesday. Cofounder and former COO Alex Moulle-Berteaux has replaced chief executive and cofounder Chet Kanojia. Kanojia, a serial entrepreneur who has run Starry since 2015, remains a member of the company’s board of directors.

Instant Pot’s Slower Sales Tip Gadget Maker Into Bankruptcy

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Instant Brands, the maker of kitchen appliances known for its Instant Pot cooker, filed for bankruptcy Monday after succumbing to financial headwinds made worse as consumers slowed their discretionary spending to cope with inflation, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Illinois-based home appliance maker filed for chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston, listing more than $500 million in both assets and liabilities. Private-equity firm Cornell Capital bought the company in 2019 and combined it with Corelle Brands, another kitchenware company. Sales have been falling, showing the difficulties that Instant Brands has faced growing its business on the back of a single hit product. The company, which also sells Pyrex and Snapware, has been working with restructuring advisers for months to improve its balance sheet and finances as consumers’ onetime obsession with the Instant Pot cooker slowed down. The company’s net sales decreased 21.9% in the first quarter this year compared with the same period in 2022, the seventh consecutive quarter of declining year-over-year sales, S&P Global said in a ratings downgrade of Instant Brands last week. The company ended March with roughly $95 million in liquidity and the business hasn’t been generating cash, according to the ratings report.

Autism Treatment Center Files for Bankruptcy, Plans Sale to Founder

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The Center for Autism and Related Disorders, which operates 130 treatment centers in the U.S., filed for bankruptcy in Texas on Monday with a plan to sell itself back to its founder, Reuters reported. The center suffered an $82 million net loss in the 12 months ending April 2023, largely as a result of long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S., according to court filings in the Houston bankruptcy court. The company is majority-owned by the private equity firm Blackstone Inc, and it intends to sell itself in bankruptcy. It has a $25 million offer in hand from Dr. Doreen Granpeesheh, who founded the center in 1990. Granpeesheh stepped down as CEO when the company was sold to Blackstone in 2018, but she retained a 21% equity stake. A sale to Granpeesheh would provide a “seamless transition” for the company’s 3,500 patients and allow the company to retain the majority of 2,500 employees, according to court filings. Based in Henderson, Nevada, the company specializes in applied behavioral analysis therapy for children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.

Bondholders Target Slot Machine Operator’s Dividends as Chapter 11 Begins

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Slot machine operator Lucky Bucks is facing an early challenge to its chapter 11 case from junior bondholders after the closely held business proposed a restructuring that recoups a small fraction of more than $440 million in debt-funded dividends paid to shareholders in recent years, the Wall Street Journal reported. Unsecured bondholders including Marathon Asset Management, Monarch Alternative Capital and BC Partners objected on Monday to the company’s chapter 11 strategy that would mostly wipe out $300 million in debt they bought in 2021 and 2022. Lucky Bucks, among the largest operators of coin-operated amusement machines in Georgia, filed for chapter 11 on Friday blaming slowing consumer spending and greater enforcement of Georgia gaming regulations that took some of its machines at gas stations and convenience stores in the state offline. In bankruptcy, the business has proposed handing 100% ownership to senior lenders, while driving down its roughly $900 million debt load closer to $100 million. Lucky Bucks’ decline came after it loaded up on debt in 2021 and 2022 to fund shareholder distributions, including its majority owner, Dallas private-equity firm Trive Capital.

Bankruptcy Judge Rejects 3M Effort to Resolve Earplug Lawsuits in Bankruptcy

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A U.S. bankruptcy judge on Friday dismissed the bankruptcy of 3M subsidiary Aearo Technologies, rejecting an effort to resolve nearly 260,000 lawsuits alleging that 3M military earplugs caused hearing loss for veterans and U.S. service members, Reuters reported. Bankruptcy Judge Jeffrey Graham in Indianapolis ruled that Aearo, as a well-supported subsidiary of 3M, enjoys a "greater degree of financial security than warrants bankruptcy protection." The lawsuits, which have been consolidated in federal court in Pensacola, Florida, are the largest mass tort in U.S. history, with nearly 330,000 cases filed and approximately 260,000 pending cases, according to court statistics from March. 3M and Aearo had argued that the earplug litigation had spiraled out of control and could be resolved only in bankruptcy. But Judge Graham ruled the lawsuits against 3M and Aearo did not create any "impending" risk of insolvency, and there was no evidence that a settlement could not be reached outside of bankruptcy. Judge Graham acknowledged that the earplug litigation was "staggering," representing 30% of all cases currently pending in the federal district courts. But Aearo's bankruptcy was a "fatally premature" response, given the fact that 3M had borne the costs of litigation against Aearo and there was no evidence that either company had been seriously harmed by the court cases, Judge Graham said.

Largest Life Plan Community in Illinois Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

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One of the nation’s largest senior living communities has initiated chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, citing the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, SeniorHousingNews.com reported. The community, Friendship Village of Schaumburg in Schaumburg, Ill., is initiating chapter 11 proceedings in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois, according to a news release issued Friday afternoon. During bankruptcy proceedings, the life plan community will continue operations. Friendship Village of Schaumburg is the largest in Illinois, according to the company’s website. It is also ranked as the No. 22 largest not-for-profit senior living community in the U.S., according to the 2022 LeadingAge-Ziegler 200. Troubles from the pandemic and a decrease in move-ins and tours led to the community’s financial hardships. Last year, the community started discussions to find a “consensual solution” to strengthen the community’s financial standing and build towards a new future.

Lordstown Motors to Sue Foxconn Over Stalled $47 Million Investment

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Lordstown Motors Corp. intends to sue backer Foxconn Technology Group as the companies remain at odds over a stalled investment in the EV startup, Bloomberg News reported. Foxconn, best known for assembling iPhones for Apple Inc., remains “unlikely” to follow through on that investment, the Ohio company said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday. Lordstown accused Foxconn of operating in “bad faith” and said that, without a “prompt resolution,” it “intends to enforce its rights through litigation.” A representative for Foxconn did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Lordstown revealed on May 1 that Foxconn was holding back on a $47 million investment because Lordstown’s stock had fallen below $1, which put the company in violation of the Nasdaq’s listing rules. Foxconn claimed this was a breach of the investment agreement the companies signed late last year, which was supposed to see as much as $170 million invested in the startup. The company warned it may have to seek bankruptcy protection without Foxconn’s funding.