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Ex-Cambridge Analytica CEO Tells Lawmakers He Lied on Video

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Former Cambridge Analytica Chief Executive Officer Alexander Nix said reports that he withdrew $8 million from his now-defunct company are untrue, and that he lied to an undercover journalist because he believed it was what "the client wanted to hear," Bloomberg News reported. He told a committee of British lawmakers investigating the impact of social media on recent elections yesterday that he now has "no involvement" in Cambridge Analytica, which is moving through bankruptcy proceedings in the U.S., or associated companies that are under management of a court appointed administrator in the U.K. The Financial Times reported on Tuesday that investors who reportedly want to rebrand and relaunch Cambridge Analytica are in a dispute with Nix after he allegedly withdrew millions of dollars from the company shortly before it collapsed, citing people involved in the dispute.

Owners of Defunct Ohio Brewery Equipment Maker File Bankruptcy

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The Stark County, Ohio, couple accused of ripping off craft breweries nationwide have filed for personal bankruptcy, the Akron (Ohio) Beacon Journal reported. Jason and Amanda Spurrell, who operated the defunct SysTech Stainless Works in Canton, Ohio, filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy last month in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Canton. They listed their assets as $38,273.92, with total liabilities of $377,077.95. They checked a box estimating the number of creditors at between 50 and 99. They also estimated their monthly income at $5,120. SysTech, which went out of business suddenly last year, has faced accusations and lawsuits from craft breweries around the country that it provided defective equipment or delivered no equipment at all after receiving tens of thousands of dollars in deposits. Some breweries also said they received equipment made in China when SysTech had promised American-made products.

Envelope Maker Cenveo Announces Deal to Resolve Bankruptcy

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Cenveo Inc., a commercial printer contracted to supply materials for the 2020 U.S. census, says it expects to emerge from chapter 11 protection this summer, after reaching a new deal with creditors, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The agreement, announced yesterday, is supported by more than 70 percent of the company’s senior lenders, as well as other secured lenders and the official committee of unsecured creditors. One of the world’s largest envelope makers, Cenveo sought chapter 11 protection in February, citing a shift among consumers toward digital products. Its latest accord with lenders would cut more than a billion dollars in funded debt down to under $400 million. And as part of the agreement announced Tuesday, the amount of debt to be issued upon the company’s exit from bankruptcy was reduced from $200 million to $100 million. Under the debt-cutting plan, Cenveo’s senior lenders would swap their debt in exchange for near total ownership of the reorganized company, while smaller ownership stakes will be given to management and junior creditors. Shareholders would be largely wiped out.

Bankruptcy Trustee Sues Former ITT Boss, Directors for $250 Million

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The bankruptcy trustee seeking a settlement for ITT Technical Institute’s students is suing its parent company’s former CEO and eight former directors for $250 million, the Associated Press reported. Trustee Deborah Caruso filed suit last week in southern Indiana’s U.S. Bankruptcy Court alleging former ITT Educational Services CEO Kevin Modany and directors breached their fiduciary duty to ITT and its stakeholders, leading to the bankruptcy. Carmel-based ITT Educational closed all 130 ITT campuses in 38 states in September 2016. The lawsuit says ITT Educational shut down “without an orderly plan for winding down its operations or even providing for a teach-out of its 40,000 active students.”

Planet Hollywood Owner to Buy Bertucci’s Pizza Chain

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The owner of restaurant chains that include Planet Hollywood, Buca di Beppo and Earl of Sandwich is the winning bidder for bankrupt pizza chain Bertucci’s Corp., topping an earlier offer from an investment firm, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Earl Enterprises, whose chains have about 130 locations, will pay more than $3 million in cash for Bertucci’s, take on $4 million of debt it acquired in bankruptcy, and issue $13 million in new second-lien debt. The original bidder, Chicago-based Right Lane Capital LLC, offered less in cash, $1.7 million, and $14 million in new notes, as well as the $4 million in bankruptcy financing. Right Lane will also receive a breakup fee and expense reimbursement totaling $995,000 for having served as stalking horse, or lead, bidder.

Penthouse Media Bought Out of Bankruptcy

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The assets of Penthouse Global Media have been sold for $11.2 million to the owner of XVideos.com, the San Fernando Valley Business Journal reported. Adult industry news outlet XBiz reported on Tuesday that XVideos.com management was among 400 individuals, companies and other investors in the adult entertainment industry expressing interest in the Chatsworth company’s intellectual property, videos, publications, broadcasting and digital rights. Penthouse Global Media filed for chapter 11 protection in January to address its debt and other financial issues.

Toys 'R' Us Nearly Had a Deal to Save Itself

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In its rush to find a buyer earlier this year and avoid liquidation, bankrupt Toys “R” Us Inc. landed on a familiar name: Sycamore Partners, Bloomberg News reported. The private-equity firm, which had already scooped up several troubled retailers, held advanced talks with Toys “R” Us about acquiring the chain and keeping open half its 800 U.S. locations. Target Corp. also seriously pursued buying some of the retailer’s assets, including the parent registry and website of its Babies “R” Us brand. But those potential deals collapsed in February when the retailer’s senior creditors decided there would be a better return by selling off assets during a liquidation of the U.S. retail business. By mid-March, management publicly disclosed the shutdown after a Bloomberg News report that it was preparing for that option.

Creditors Look to Investigate Nine West Debt Transactions

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Nine West Holdings Inc.’s creditors want to put the shoe retailer’s debt deals — namely the transactions related to a private-equity firm’s leveraged buyout of the company — under the microscope, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The committee representing the retailer’s unsecured creditors believes there could be “a number of potential estate claims” stemming from the 2014 leveraged buyout and other transactions between the company and its private-equity backer, Sycamore Partners, court papers show. Nine West sought chapter 11 protection in April as it grappled with a $1.5 billion debt load, much of which was left over from the 2014 buyout. The committee isn’t the only group concerned there may be claims against Sycamore Partners. The company itself filed court papers on Monday supporting the creditors’ move to investigate the deals that led to the hefty debt load.

Two Arizona Hospitals Enter Bankruptcy

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Gilbert (Ariz.) Hospital and Florence (Ariz.) Hospital entered chapter 11 bankruptcy in late May after creditors sought to force the hospitals into bankruptcy in an attempt to collect $1.96 million they claim the affiliated hospitals owe, according to Becker's Hospital CFO Report. In late April, three employees jointly filed the involuntary bankruptcy petition for Florence Hospital, seeking $46,650 in wages. Gilbert Hospital's involuntary bankruptcy petition, which seeks more than $1.9 million, was filed by the hospital's founder and CMO Timothy Johns, MD, an unsecured creditors' trust and a Phoenix-based law firm. After creditors ask the court to initiate bankruptcy proceedings, the debtor has the opportunity to contest the petition. 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. Read more

For more on hospital and health care insolvencies, be sure to pick up a copy of the ABI Health Care Insolvency Manual, Third Edition from the ABI Bookstore. 

Judge Rules Weinstein Co. Class Action Can Resume

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A group of six women who have accused Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault and misconduct will be allowed to continue with their proposed class action lawsuit against the film and television studio he co-founded while it prepares to liquidate in chapter 11, a judge ruled yesterday, the Wall Street Journal reported. Bankruptcy Judge Mary Walrath granted a request by lawyers representing these women to allow the proposed class action against Weinstein Co. to proceed. The complaint, filed in December in New York federal court, accuses the studio of covering up Weinstein’s alleged sexual misconduct. A federal judge is considering motions to dismiss the lawsuit, one of several legal actions pending against Weinstein Co. that were put on hold when the company sought chapter 11 protection in March.