%1

Deutsche Bank AG wants to buy out Lehman Brothers Inc. claimants as the defunct brokerage’s liquidation draws to a close, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Deutsche Bank’s London branch beat out five other bidders competing to make a cash offer to holders of unsecured claims against the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy estate, according to court papers filed Monday by liquidating trustee James Giddens. Giddens is nearing the conclusion of a decade-long wind-down of Lehman Brothers, the brokerage unit of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. He is planning to distribute $170 million distribution, his sixth payout to creditors, which would bring recoveries on unsecured claims to 39.75 cents on the dollar from 39 cents. Priority creditors have already been paid in full.

A McKinsey & Co. retirement fund held investments that gave it a financial interest in the outcome of six bankruptcy cases in which the company also was serving as an adviser, court and regulatory filings show, the Wall Street Journal. McKinsey’s restructuring unit, known as McKinsey RTS, didn’t disclose those investments publicly. Rules governing the chapter 11 bankruptcy process require advisers to disclose all relationships that might give rise to a conflict of interest, to ensure that advisers will be disinterested advocates for their clients and that other participants in the cases are aware of them. The McKinsey retirement fund’s investments with two hedge-fund companies, Whitebox Advisors LLC and Strategic Value Partners LLC, gave it a stake in the debt or other obligations of six companies that sought bankruptcy protection: United Airlines parent UAL Corp. in 2002; American Airlines parent AMR Corp. in 2011; Edison Mission Energy in 2012; NII Holdings Inc. in 2014; Alpha Natural Resources Inc. in 2015; and SunEdison Inc. in 2016. McKinsey was a bankruptcy adviser to all six companies. In each bankruptcy case McKinsey advised on, its officials signed a sworn statement that the firm was a disinterested party.

Harvey Weinstein wants jurors to decide whether Chubb Ltd. and other insurers are acting in “bad faith” by refusing to pay to defend him against nearly a dozen lawsuits accusing him of assaulting or sexually harassing women over a period stretching four decades, Bloomberg News reported. Weinstein’s lawyers said in court filings yesterday that they want an eight-day trial in federal court in Manhattan on the issue of insurers’ refusals to pick up the tab for his defense under policies that exclude coverage for “sexual molestation.” A trial date hasn’t been set. Chubb, based in Zurich, filed a countersuit against Weinstein and said it won’t be paying him to defend against the women’s allegations. Karyn Faggello, A U.S.-based spokeswoman for the company, didn’t immediately respond to an emailed request for comment on the insurance dispute sent after normal business hours. Weinstein, whose studio sought bankruptcy protection in the wake of the scandal, was arrested in Manhattan in May on rape charges and released after posting $1 million bail and surrendering his passport. He denied the charges. That same month, his Weinstein Co. was sold to Lantern Entertainment in a deal worth about $437 million.

Gilbert (Ariz.) Hospital and Florence (Ariz.) Hospital at Anthem, both owned by Gilbert-based New Vision Health, provided little notice before shutting down, Becker's Hospital Review reported. The two hospitals entered chapter 11 bankruptcy in late May after creditors filed involuntary bankruptcy petitions for the hospitals, seeking to collect $1.96 million they claim the hospitals owe. In court documents filed May 1, creditors claimed that the two Arizona hospitals failed to make lease payments for months and that the facilities are "on the brink of complete shutdown." The two Arizona hospitals failed to contest the petition within the required 21-day timeline, and the court subsequently granted creditors' request for relief through the chapter 11 bankruptcy process. The financial troubles forced the two hospitals to close. After initially announcing the two facilities would close June 15, officials slightly extended the timeline. Gilbert Hospital closed June 16 and Florence Hospital closed June 18, according to azcentral.com.

Erin Energy Corp. is seeking permission from a judge to take on a $1.1 million bankruptcy loan that the oil-and-gas producer says that it needs to avoid potential liquidation, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Erin Energy filed an emergency motion Friday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston seeking permission from a judge to take on the loan. The money would be provided by an individual, Greg Holcombe. The Houston-based company said that it has already reduced its staff to the minimum needed to preserve its assets and that if the company isn’t given access to the financial lifeline it “will not have sufficient funds to finance these minimum operations and will be forced to cease all corporate activities.” The company said it would likely be forced to liquidate without continued financing. A judge is scheduled today to consider the request to enter into the loan.

Nine West Holdings Inc. took steps forward in its bankruptcy case after winning court approval to sell its brands to licensing firm Authentic Brands Group Inc., WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Bankruptcy Judge Shelley Chapman in New York signed off yesterday on the sale of the Nine West and Bandolino brands for $340 million. Last week Authentic Brands walked away the winning bidder for the assets, after going toe-to-toe with DSW Holdings Inc. The price tag was a considerable increase. Nine West sought bankruptcy protection in April with a $200 million baseline bid from Authentic Brands. The shoe retailer sought bankruptcy protection after seeing significant sales declines in recent years. In addition to selling off its intellectual property assets, Nine West’s remaining brands, including Gloria Vanderbilt, Jessica Simpson, Anne Klein and the Kasper Group, will be taken over by a group of its lenders.

LakePoint Sports Community, the massive venue once helmed by one of Georgia’s most powerful politicians and backed by baseball Hall of Famers, filed for bankruptcy last week, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. LakePoint started with hopes of rivaling ESPN’s Wide World of Sports in Orlando, letting parents from across the country attending youth sports tournaments stay, eat and play just over the Cobb County line. It may become that, but it just hasn’t grown fast enough, leaving Bartow County taxpayers to pick up a $6 million tab.

Murray Energy Corp. said its lenders have agreed to swap $1.7 billion in loans for new loans that mature at a later date, a key element in the coal company’s plan to restructure billions in debt, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Murray said on Thursday that it had garnered support from 95 percent of its existing lenders to swap their term loans that come due in 2020 for new loans with a later maturity date. Murray Energy is also providing additional collateral to back the new loans and notes, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy previously reported. That collateral includes the equity in Murray’s South America and Kentucky Energy businesses and its indirect equity interests the company’s commodities-trading arm. Support from 95 percent of its lenders was a key threshold for Murray’s plan to restructure about $1 billion in bond debt. The Ohio-based coal-mining company had seen its earnings decline in 2017 as U.S. power companies increasingly shut down coal-fired plants and turn to cheaper natural gas.

Creditors with more than $1 billion in losses from the collapse of Oceanografia S.A. de C.V. have sued KPMG LLP, saying the auditor should have detected the alleged financial fraud that led to the offshore oil services provider’s demise, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Hundreds of millions of dollars were advanced to Oceanografia, which built and maintained platforms and pipelines in the Gulf of Mexico. Citigroup Inc., the lender, shut off credit after allegations emerged that the invoices supporting some cash advances were forged, sending Oceanografia into bankruptcy. Auditor KPMG should have detected the alleged fraud, and should be held accountable to bondholders and other creditors of the failed company, according to a complaint filed this week in Delaware’s Court of Chancery. KPMG declined to comment.

​Six former and current employees of Fitbit Inc. were ​charged in a federal indictment for possessing trade secrets stolen from rival Jawbone, according to a statement yesterday from the Department of Justice, Reuters reported. The indictment filed in San Jose, Calif., alleges each defendant was aware that the trade secrets were stolen and that they were being possessed without authorization. The individuals had all worked for the now-defunct San Francisco-based Jawbone, owned by AliphCom Inc., for at least a year between May 2011 and April 2015, before being employed by Fitbit, it said. Each of them has been charged with one or more counts of possession of trade secrets and is scheduled to make an initial court appearance on July 9, the DoJ said. Jawbone sued Fitbit in May 2015, just weeks before the wearable device maker’s IPO, alleging Fitbit engaged in a clandestine effort to steal talent, trade secrets and intellectual property. However, the companies reached a global settlement agreement resolving all outstanding litigation in December 2017.