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Commercial real estate lender New York Community Bancorp received an equity investment of more than $1 billion, gaining a vote of confidence in the struggling lender from investors including former US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Bloomberg News reported. The capital injection was led by Mnuchin’s Liberty Strategic Capital, Hudson Bay Capital and Reverence Capital Partners, NYCB said in a statement Wednesday, confirming an earlier Bloomberg News report. The shares erased an earlier plunge after the announcement. “In evaluating this investment, we were mindful of the bank’s credit risk profile,” Mnuchin said in the statement. “With the over $1 billion of capital invested in the bank, we believe we now have sufficient capital should reserves need to be increased in the future to be consistent with or above the coverage ratio of NYCB’s large bank peers.” NYCB also named Joseph Otting, the former comptroller of the currency, as its new chief executive officer. Otting replaces Alessandro DiNello, who became CEO on Feb. 29. DiNello will stay on as non-executive chairman. Liberty, which counts Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund among its backers, will invest $450 million. Other investors include Hudson Bay at $250 million and Reverence at $200 million, according to the statement. In connection with the deal, NYCB will add four new directors to its board, including Mnuchin and Otting.

The flagging shares of America's largest wood-pellet exporter got a lift after Enviva said it had agreed to extend a forbearance agreement with creditors through March 11, the Wall Street Journal reported. The forbearance agreement that Enviva struck last month after missing a bond payment expired. Enviva's shares, which reached nearly $90 in 2022, have traded for less than $1 this year. They rose by more than 30% on Tuesday. Enviva is preparing to file for bankruptcy protection following a wrong-way bet on the price of the power-plant fuel that caused nine-figure losses. In addition to the forbearance extension, Enviva told investors in a securities filing that they should no longer rely on its financial reports for the first three quarters of 2023, which it said would be restated. "This conclusion was based principally on the need to correct the classification of approximately $33 million recoverable from customers for certain handling costs that the company incurred at discharge ports for its wood pellet shipments," Enviva said in the filing.

The Brazilian airline Azul SA is working with Citigroup Inc. and Guggenheim Partners as it explores a potential offer for its troubled competitor Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA, Bloomberg News reported. Shares in both companies rallied. The companies are advising Azul as it weighs several options, including an outright acquisition of its rival. Azul still could decide to shelve the idea. Any offer would need approval from the country’s regulator — known as Cade. A tie-up between Azul and Gol would help them cut costs and boost revenue, helping support share prices, Bradesco BBI analyst led by Victor Mizusaki wrote in a note. Sao Paulo-based Gol filed for chapter 11 after grappling with $2.7 billion in near-term liabilities and carrying out a dozen debt exchanges. Under the process, it has managed to increase its debtor-in-possession financing to $1 billion from $950 million. Moody’s Investors Service on Tuesday upgraded Gol parent Abra Group’s credit rating to Caa1 from Caa3 and lifted the outlook to stable from negative. The upgrade hinged on Gol securing the $1 billion DIP financing, the ratings company said.

The founder of a small Florida hedge fund could be jailed for refusing to reveal where Indian tech firm Think & Learn Pvt allegedly hid $533 million that lenders are trying to recover, according to a federal judge, Bloomberg News reported. William C. Morton could be locked up for contempt of court if he can’t explain why he disobeyed a court order to provide details about the money, which was briefly placed with his hedge fund, Camshaft Capital Fund. Bankruptcy Judge John Dorsey scheduled a hearing for later this month in Delaware to decide what should happen to the founder for defying a court order. “I want to make sure it is absolutely clear to Mr. Morton that one of the possible remedies is civil confinement if he doesn’t comply,” said Judge Dorsey, referring to the federal rules that allow judges in non-criminal cases to jail people. Morton has recently hired criminal lawyers to represent him, Pieter Van Tol, one of his attorneys, told Judge Dorsey during a bankruptcy hearing Monday. Dorsey said he warned the hedge fund founder during a hearing last week that “it would be in his best interest” to attend today’s proceeding in Wilmington, Del. Instead, Morton left the country during the middle of last week’s hearing, Van Tol told Judge Dorsey. “We advised Mr. Morton that he should produce the information, that he should produce the documents and he declined,” Van Tol said during Monday’s hearing.

Home-fitness company BowFlex has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy with a deal in hand to be acquired by specialty fitness retailer Johnson Health Tech, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. BowFlex today said that it has secured a commitment for $25 million in debtor-in-possession financing that will allow the Vancouver, Wash., company to continue operating in a normal course and to fulfill customer orders during the bankruptcy process. Taiwan’s Johnson Health Tech will act as the stalking horse, or lead, bidder in a court-supervised auction for BowFlex with a bid of $37.5 million in cash for substantially all of the company’s assets. BowFlex said that multiple parties have indicated an interest in bidding for the company. Johnson Health Tech, whose fitness brands include Matrix, Horizon Fitness and Vision Fitness, operates more than 460 locations in Asia, Europe and the Americas. BowFlex said that it initiated the chapter 11 proceeding in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey.

Long Island community leaders are demanding an overhaul and oversight to save Nassau University Medical Center, which is in danger of running out of money, CBSNews.com reported. The safety-net hospital is in imminent fiscal danger of insolvency. It serves the uninsured, underinsured or those on Medicaid. Critics claim cronyism caused the fiscal mismanagement. It's time that we have County Executive Blakeman call for the termination of Matthew Bruderman," said Nassau County Legislator Siela Bynoe (D). Two years ago, Bruderman was appointed NU Health chair and pledged to turn the medical center around in six months. The hospital is now weeks away from running out of money to pay its staff. "The county will be on the hook and therefore the taxpayers will be on the hook for the debt that is looming," said County Legislator Debra Mulé (D). The state health commissioner sent a terse letter saying funding is available with strings attached: oversight, transparency and accountability.

Crafts retailer Joann Inc. is considering a bankruptcy filing as soon as next week as part of a deal that would hand control of the company to lenders while allowing it to shed expensive debt, Bloomberg News reported. The company, which sells fabric and craft supplies and has around 850 stores in the U.S., has been holding confidential talks with its lenders as it seeks fresh capital to bolster its cash reserves. Discussions are ongoing and plans aren’t final, but the company is seeking to line up enough support from lenders that would allow it to exit chapter 11 quickly in what’s known as a pre-pack filing. Joann has struggled to maintain liquidity and manage inventory levels amid a challenging environment for retailers. It raised more than $34 million in a sale and leaseback deal for its Hudson, Ohio facility, but is contending with high interest expenses and required term loan payments, Moody’s Investors Service wrote in a note in January.

The U.S. bankruptcy judge who is weighing whether to dismiss the bankruptcy of prison healthcare company Tehum Health said on Friday that he doesn't intend to make a sweeping ruling on so-called "Texas two-step" bankruptcy cases, Reuters reported. Opponents of Tehum's bankruptcy, including prisoners who have sued over substandard medical care and the U.S. Department of Justice, have argued that the company's predecessor Corizon Health abused U.S. bankruptcy law when it created a new shell company, Tehum, and placed it into bankruptcy to halt lawsuits filed against Corizon. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez said during a Friday court hearing in Houston that he intends to take a narrow view of Tehum's bankruptcy and its proposed $55 million settlement of creditor claims, without making a "sweeping ruling" on the Texas two-step or other companies' efforts to resolve lawsuits in bankruptcy. "For me, those issues are for policymakers and not for this court," Judge Lopez said. Tehum filed for bankruptcy in February 2023, shortly after its predecessor, Corizon Health, used a Texas statute to split itself into two companies, YesCare and Tehum. YesCare inherited Corizon's assets and its go-forward business, while Tehum was stuck with the liability from about 200 lawsuits accusing Corizon of providing prisoners with substandard medical care that led to injuries and deaths at 50 detention facilities in 27 states.

The shrinking North American box office has forced a 100-year-old movie theater operator into bankruptcy, Bloomberg News reported. Metropolitan Theatres Corp. — a family-owned business operating 16 theaters in California, Colorado and Utah — said in court papers that the COVID pandemic and its aftermath on the movie industry stressed its liquidity. Last year’s Hollywood strikes are a further blow because fewer film releases are expected through 2025, the company said. Much-larger peer AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. avoided bankruptcy during the height of the pandemic, but Regal Cinemas parent Cineworld Group Plc filed chapter 11 in 2022. Others have either gone bankrupt or closed in recent years, including the former owner of the historic Cinerama Dome in Hollywood. Metropolitan Theatres said in Thursday’s filing that it doesn’t have enough cash to make-up for this year’s poor ticket sales without reducing rent at its remaining locations. President David Corwin, in a sworn statement, also highlighted continued pressure from streaming as North American ticket sales are down roughly 20% this year. Corwin, whose family has owned Metropolitan Theatres since it was founded by Joseph H. Corwin in 1923, said the company intends to use chapter 11 to negotiate rent reductions with landlords and close locations it can no longer afford. The firm pays about $2.6 million annually in rent, a cost he said continues “to be a drain.” Metropolitan Theatres elected to file for subchapter V under chapter 11 protection. The company filed customer motions to continue paying ordinary business expenses, including wages for 240 part-time and 12 full-time employees.