Burgess BioPower has terminated its purchase power agreement with Eversource and filed for chapter 11 voluntary bankruptcy, the company said on Feb. 9, New Hampshire Business Review reported. Burgess BioPower had warned it faced bankruptcy after the New Hampshire legislature failed to overturn Gov. Chris Sununu’s (R) veto of a bill that would have eliminated the requirement that the company repay $71 million in overmarket costs. In a release, Burgess BioPower said that Eversource had failed to make required payments to Burgess BioPower. But Eversource said that it began reducing payments to Burgess BioPower last month, as required to recoup the $71 million. As part of its filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for District of Delaware, Burgess BioPower said it has entered into a restructuring agreement with its senior secured lenders that calls for a substantial deleveraging or sale of the company. The lenders have agreed to provide $18 million dollars in debtor-in-possession financing that will allow the company to operate the biomass plant and pay its obligations while in bankruptcy.
The Center for Special Needs Trust Administration Inc. has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy, demanding its founder repay an improperly authorized $100 million loan allegedly taken from the nonprofit’s trust accounts, the Tampa Bay Business Journal reported. Between 2009 and 2020, the St. Petersburg-based trust administrator alleges founder Leo J. Govoni sidestepped management to approve the transfer of the funds to Boston Finance Group, one of the various companies he owns and operates, according to bankruptcy documents filed in the Middle District of Florida on Feb. 9. The center filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization, in part to facilitate an ongoing investigation into the misuse of the funds, a recovery of the money, and to preserve the value of its assets while it restructures, according to the filing. The Center for Special Needs manages more than $200 million in over 2,000 special needs trusts across the U.S., which function as specialized funds for disabled individuals to receive public assistance benefits like supplemental security income and Medicaid. Govoni disputes the allegations and characterizations made in the filing as to the mishandling of the center’s funds and looks forward to resolving the issue through the bankruptcy process or otherwise, his attorney said.
Co-working giant WeWork Inc. is seeking fresh financing in order to finish negotiating rent cuts with landlords and exit bankruptcy, it revealed in a court filing, Bloomberg News reported. The beleaguered company needs the funds mainly to pay rent on office spaces used by its customers, while it deliberates which buildings around the world to keep and which to shed as part of its chapter 11 reorganization. WeWork said that its efforts “are at a critical juncture,” in a court filing that responds to complaints by a number of landlords. More than a dozen landlords had asked a federal judge to force WeWork to pay rent they claim it’s withholding in violation of bankruptcy rules. WeWork has denied the allegation, arguing that the landlords could be paid using other means, such as letters of credit, rather than demanding funds from its shrinking pool of money. The “vast majority” of the unpaid landlords have access to letters of credit and surety bonds set up to ensure they are paid, WeWork pointed out in its filing. The landlords could also be paid using traditional security deposits that renters typically put down when signing a lease, the company argued.
Sientra Inc., a breast implant manufacturer that filed bankruptcy this week, won court approval to start drawing from a $90 million Chapter 11 loan provided by Deerfield Partners LP as it attempts to sell its business, Bloomberg News reported. Judge John Dorsey said yesterday he’d give interim approval to the loan, which provides Sientra $22.5 million in new money and rolls-up as much as $67.5 million in existing company loans. Roll-ups are provisions commonly used in bankruptcy financing that move companies’ existing debt to the front of the chapter 11 repayment line in lockstep with newly lent money. The chapter 11 financing will give Sientra cash to continue operating while it attempts to sell its business. Sientra lawyer Nicole Greenblatt said during the company’s first court hearing Wednesday that it has has garnered additional expressions of interest since filing chapter 11 on Monday. Wednesday’s ruling gives Sientra immediate access to $9 million, according to court documents. The company will seek approval from Judge Dorsey at a later hearing to tap the rest of the bankruptcy financing.
Invitae, a genetic-testing business backed by investors including SoftBank Group and Cathie Wood’s ARK Investment Management, has filed for bankruptcy, blaming poorly-timed acquisitions, macroeconomic headwinds and turnover in its top ranks, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The San Francisco-based company, with assets of $535 million and debts of $1.6 billion as of Sept. 30, entered chapter 11 Tuesday with a restructuring agreement supported by most of its senior secured bondholders, according to a court filing. The publicly traded company plans to market its assets in a court-supervised auction process. Invitae stock traded at almost 2 cents apiece Wednesday afternoon, down roughly 35%. It had consistently traded in the $2 range as recently as last February. In 2020, its shares were valued at well over $50 each. Invitae attributed its bankruptcy to several factors, including a spate of 13 acquisitions it made between 2019 and 2021.
Genesis Global Holdco LLC won bankruptcy court permission to sell roughly 35 million Grayscale Bitcoin Trust shares worth more than $1.3 billion as the bankrupt crypto lender readies plans to compensate clients who lent it digital assets, Bloomberg News reported. Judge Sean Lane said Wednesday he’d grant Genesis’ request to sell the shares, a process the crypto lender said would be conducted over time with the help of a broker. Genesis also intends to sell more than 11 million shares in two Grayscale Ethereum Trusts worth more than $200 million, according to a Feb. 2 court filing. Genesis’ parent, Digital Currency Group, attempted to delay the proposed sale until after the bankruptcy court decides later this month whether to approve its subsidiary’s debt repayment plan. Digital Currency Group, which opposes Genesis’ repayment plan, said its not against selling the shares but said the sales could be premature if the Lane rejects the plan. Digital Currency Group lawyer Jeffrey Saferstein said the parent company was also worried that the Grayscale shares could be unloaded too quickly, depressing prices and minimizing potential recoveries for Genesis creditors. The parent company also sought the right to consult on the Grayscale shares.
One of Minnesota's best-known breweries filed for bankruptcy protection this week as Fair State Brewing Cooperative seeks a way through a mountain of debt, the Star Tribune reported. CEO Evan Sallee said the doors will remain open at Fair State's northeast Minneapolis taproom in the meantime. "From a consumer standpoint, nothing should change," he said. "This is the process that will enable us to keep going." The chapter 11 filing seeks to reorganize the cooperative's liabilities, which include $2.5 million in secured claims. A successful resolution will keep the brewery in business; the alternative would be chapter 7 bankruptcy, in which assets are sold to pay creditors. The cooperative reported $3 million in assets and $5.1 million in total liabilities, including debts to more than 100 creditors that especially piled up during the pandemic. "We've been moving heaven and earth to get out from under it," Sallee said. "It has not been my favorite day. But we have a solid plan to get through it, and I don't think we need to make any drastic pivots." Fair State made history in 2020 when it became the first unionized craft brewery in the nation. It also became a pioneer in the THC beverage market when opening Chill State Collective last year, a distribution center and co-manufacturing hub for several brands. Fair State saw revenue jump from $4.5 million in 2022 to $7.4 million last year as a result.
Ultimate Jet LLC, the holding company for Ultimate Jetcharters LLC, the private jet charter company based at Akron-Canton Airport in Green, Ohio, has joined its operating unit in bankruptcy court, the Cleveland Business Journal reported. Late last week, Ultimate Jet filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Ohio in Akron. As was true for Ultimate Jetcharter's bankruptcy filing in October, the charter airline intends to keep operating as usual while its holding company restructures in bankruptcy court. Ultimate Jet "is an associated entity with Ultimate Jetcharters, and the matters are related," the company's president and CEO, Stephen West, said in an emailed response to questions. "Ultimate Jetcharters is still conducting business as usual." Ultimate Jetcharters filed for bankruptcy protection in October "to address challenges from the previous management group," West said at the time. Those challenges include at least $10 million in debt for which Ultimate Jetcharters became responsible after the airline's founder, John Gordon, sold a controlling interest in the company in early 2020, according to a bankruptcy court filing by CEO West. Through his investment company, Wooster Ohio Investments LLC, Gordon then purchased the remaining 15% of Ultimate Jetcharters from several minority unit holders. The bankruptcy filing of Ultimate Jet was triggered last week after it was discovered that promissory notes issued by Wooster Ohio to its former minority unit holders were guaranteed not by Ultimate Jetcharters, the airline already reorganizing in bankruptcy court, but by its holding company, Ultimate Jet.
Shares of Sientra plunged Tuesday after the surgical aesthetics company filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy with plans to pursue a sale of its business through a court-supervised auction process, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Sientra shares were recently down 52% at 28 cents. Shareholders are generally wiped out in bankruptcy cases. Sientra said it would seek an expedited sale process, adding that it would use its existing cash reserves and $22.5 million in debtor-in-possession financing from its existing lenders to facilitate the sale and support its continuing operations. The Irvine, Calif., company said the debtor-in-possession financing will also include a roll-up of $67.5 million of its prebankruptcy debt obligations. Sientra said it aims to emerge from the bankruptcy process with increased financial stability, and that multiple parties have expressed interest in an acquisition.
Enviva, the largest U.S. wood pellet exporter, is preparing to file for bankruptcy within days after a bad bet on future prices of the commodity triggered nine-figure losses, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The Bethesda, Md.-based company last month entered into a 30-day grace period that expires on Thursday after missing a $24 million interest payment owed to its bondholders. Enviva is making preparations to file for bankruptcy as soon as the end of this week, but it might push the filing back to continue negotiations if the bondholders agree to extend the grace period, the people said. A group of Enviva’s bondholders is offering the company financing for the chapter 11 process. Enviva’s shares, which fared well during the pandemic and last year’s European energy crisis, have lost 99% of their value in the past 12 months. The stock closed Tuesday below 45 cents a share after news of the possible bankruptcy filing and continued to fall in after-hours trading. https://www.wsj.com/articles/wood-pellet-maker-enviva-prepares-to-file-… Rents Boost U.S. Consumer Prices in January U.S. consumer prices rose more than expected in January amid a surge in the cost of shelter, but the pick-up in inflation did not change expectations that the Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates in the first half of this year, Reuters reported. The largest increase in prices in four months reported by the Labor Department on Tuesday came against the backdrop of labor market strength and economic resilience. Some economists also blamed difficulties adjusting the data for seasonal fluctuations for the stronger-than-expected inflation readings. "Today's data is not what markets or the Fed would have liked to see, but it's important not to over react and jump to the assumption that an inflationary resurgence is developing," said Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management. "A March cut is completely off the agenda, but May could still be in play if economic activity plays ball and finally starts to show the impact from prior Fed tightening." The consumer price index (CPI) increased 0.3% last month after gaining 0.2% in December, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said. Shelter, which includes rents, accounted for more than two-thirds of the rise in the CPI. New weights, published last week, which saw the housing share rising and that of new and used cars lowered, were used to calculate the January consumer price data.
