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Cineworld said today that it had filed a reorganization plan in a Texas bankruptcy court that will effectively wipe out existing shareholdings, sending its stock to an all-time low, Reuters reported. The filing formalizes a deal laid out on April 3 that includes plans to cut debt by about $4.53 billion and raise $2.26 billion in funds to emerge from bankruptcy. It does not provide for any recovery for its existing shareholders, the group said. Shares in the world's second-largest cinema chain operator fell to 1.5 pence on Tuesday, and have lost more than 99% since it listed in 2007. Cineworld, which placed a majority of its business under U.S. chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September, last week dropped plans to sell its businesses in the U.S., the UK, and Ireland after failing to find a buyer.The group's chapter 11 companies are seeking to confirm the plan on an "expeditious timeline", Cineworld said, adding that it continues to operate its global business and cinemas as usual without interruption.

A bankruptcy judge yesterday dismissed the chapter 11 case of Legacy Lofts on St. Mary’s LLC after the townhouse developer failed to comply with court requirements, the San Antonio Express-News reported. It had filed for bankruptcy protection in December to stop a foreclosure on a portion the property along North St. Mary’s and East Euclid avenues where it built 19 townhouse units. Since entering bankruptcy, Legacy Lofts had not filed monthly operating reports or paid quarterly fees as required, according to James Rose Jr., an attorney for the U.S. Trustee’s office. Legacy Lofts also failed to file a reorganization plan, Rose told Chief U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Craig Gargotta during a Monday hearing. On March 20, Rose filed a motion to have the case dismissed or converted to a chapter 7 liquidation. Allen DeBard, Legacy Lofts' bankruptcy lawyer, did not oppose the motion to dismiss the case.

A booming wedding industry is seemingly not enough to prop up the fortunes of one of the nation’s largest bridal retailers. David’s Bridal boasts that it sells one of every three wedding dresses in the United States. Yet it continues to struggle to manage its costs after emerging from bankruptcy five years ago, and it is working with advisers as it explores its options, the New York Times DealBook blog reported. The company has been working with the investment bank Houlihan Lokey to explore a sale, which could be included as part of a bankruptcy filing. Even if it does file for bankruptcy, David’s Bridal plans to continue to meet the demands of its customer base, which is largely brides. That includes delivering dresses and holding fittings. That was the same promise it made when it filed for bankruptcy the first time, in 2018. In addition to Houlihan Lokey, David’s Bridal has hired the law firm Kirkland & Ellis and the investment firm BRG to explore its options.

Pfizer Inc., the world's largest drug maker, will buy the assets of at-home COVID-flu test developer Lucira Health Inc. following an auction Thursday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, the San Francisco Business Times reported. After meeting with the unsecured creditors' committee, Emeryville-based Lucira declared Pfizer, the manufacturer of a critical COVID-19 vaccine and drug, as the successful bidder. The next highest bidder was Pearsanta Inc., a recently formed subsidiary of Richmond, Virginia-based Aditxt Inc., according to a bankruptcy court filing. Court filings did not disclose how much the companies bid for Lucira, which was the first company to win Food and Drug Administration emergency use authorization in late 2020 for an at-home, do-it-yourself molecular diagnostic test for COVID. Lucira filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February as it awaited FDA approval of a combined COVID-flu test for which it had been trying to take to market for months. Two days after the bankruptcy filing, FDA officials granted emergency use authorization, or EUA, for the combined test. Pfizer's purchase of Lucira's assets is scheduled to be heard April 13 before Bankruptcy Court Judge Mary F. Walrath.

The former parent companies of Maxus Energy Corp. reached a $575 million settlement on Thursday to end a longstanding bankruptcy-court lawsuit over who should pay to clean up the contaminated Passaic River in New Jersey, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Argentine energy company YPF SA has agreed to pay half of the settlement, according to a securities filing by YPF on Friday. Spain’s Repsol SA, another former owner of Maxus, has agreed to pay the other half, a company representative said. The settlement amounts to a fraction of the $14 billion that the remnants of Maxus have sought, although it isn’t unusual for a party demanding large damages to end up with a much smaller settlement amount. Occidental Chemical Corp., which shares liabilities for the Passaic cleanup with Maxus, also agreed to drop all claims against YPF and Repsol related to Maxus, the Passaic River and other areas subject to environmental remediation, according to YPF’s filing.

"Hubris, incompetence, and greed" led to the implosion of crypto exchange FTX, the now-defunct entity's debtors said in a Sunday report detailing control failures at the exchange, according to a report in Business Insider. In a 39-page strongly-worded report filed to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, the debtors — which includes FTX Trading and affiliates — further alleged that FTX lacked basic accounting and financial controls and was under the command of a small group of individuals who "stifled dissent." "These individuals stifled dissent, commingled and misused corporate and customer funds, lied to third parties about their business, joked internally about their tendency to lose track of millions of dollars in assets, and thereby caused the FTX Group to collapse as swiftly as it had grown," the debtors wrote in their first report since the exchange's collapse in November. "While the FTX Group's failure is novel in the unprecedented scale of harm it caused in a nascent industry, many of its root causes are familiar: hubris, incompetence, and greed," they said. FTX's implosion was shocking and swift. The exchange — worth $32 billion in early 2022 — filed for chapter 11 protection on November 11 of the same year, after a week of a liquidity crisis. The crisis was followed by swift criminal cases against the company's top brass. Sam Bankman-Fried, a high-profile cofounder of the exchange and former CEO, pleaded not guilty in the U.S. government's criminal case against him and is scheduled for a trial in October. Gary Wang, another cofounder, and Caroline Ellison, former CEO of FTX subsidiary Alameda Research, have pleaded guilty and are working with prosecutors. Former engineering chief Nishad Singh also pleaded guilty.

Baltimore-based Shoe City is shutting down after 74 years and closing all 39 stores in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., WMAR2News.com reported. "Unfortunately, after 74 years in business, the Shoe City legacy has come to an end," wrote attorney Stanley W. Mastil, the chief restructuring officer in a bankruptcy filing for the company. Shoe City, which goes by ESCO, Ltd., and YCMC, filed for bankruptcy in federal court in Maryland on April 3. Mastil noted that it "remains a family-owned business to this day as the equity of the Debtor is owned by family members and family trusts of the founders." All stores will close by May 31.