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Bankrupt Scottish Re Subsidiaries Have New Top Bidder

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Hildene Capital Management LLC is the winning bidder for two bankrupt Scottish Re Group Ltd. subsidiaries, besting an earlier offer by an investment fund led by a former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. executive, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The Stamford, Conn.-based hedge fund plans to pay a total of $34 million, including $12.5 million to recapitalize Scottish Holdings Inc. and an affiliate after they leave bankruptcy, according to filing Friday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del. Hildene had owned trust preferred securities in Scottish Holdings when it sought protection from creditors in January, and was one of three members of the unsecured creditors committee, court filings show. The Scottish business had entered bankruptcy with a deal in hand to sell itself to HSCM Bermuda Fund Ltd., subject to better bids. The investment fund of Hudson Structured Capital Management Ltd. originally said it would pay a total of about $25 million, of which $12.5 million would be to recapitalize the companies after they emerge from bankruptcy. After the auction in New York last Wednesday, Hudson was named the backup bidder, with a total offer that had risen to $32 million, including the $12.5 million to recapitalize the companies.

Court Approves Sale of Dowling College Brookhaven Campus for $14 Million

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The U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Central Islip today approved the sale of Dowling College’s 105-acre Brookhaven campus In Shirley, N.Y., to Triple Five Aviation Industries LLC for $14 million, Newsday reported. Representatives, creditors and trustees of the defunct liberal arts college at a hearing yesterday requested that Judge Robert E. Grossman approve the sale, allowing for Triple Five Aviation and Dowling’s estate to close the real estate transaction within 45 days. Triple Five Aviation is a subsidiary of the Triple Five Group of Companies — the majority partner in a joint venture to redevelop the Enterprise Park at Calverton known as EPCAL.

Bankrupt California Firm’s Investors to Split $2.4 Million

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Investors stung by the collapse of William Jordan Investments Inc., which filed for bankruptcy last year while securities regulators were investigating the firm’s finances, are expected to split at least $2.4 million in cash recovered from the sale of some of its real-estate investments, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Lawyers who have sold off properties tied to the Laguna Hills, Calif., firm have proposed to distribute some of the sale money in the next few months. It is unclear how far the money will go to repay the firm’s roughly 100 investors, who face July deadlines to submit an estimate of how much money they lost. Regulators have said that the firm’s former president, William Jordan, collected more than $71 million from investors for real-estate loans during a five-year period.

Judge Approves Gibson Financing Plan

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Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Sontchi late last week approved a $135 million debtor-in-possession financing plan that will help musical instrument maker Gibson Brands Inc. refinance some of its debt and stay on track to emerge from its chapter 11 case later this year, the Nashville Post reported. Attorneys for Nashville-based Gibson last week told Judge Sontchi that they were close to finalizing an agreement with bond investors and lenders but still needed to put their revised DIP plan before several other stakeholders. Those entities gave their approval prior to last Thursday’s hearing. “[This] decision assures that it remains business as usual at Gibson," Henry Juszkiewicz, chairman and CEO of Gibson, said in a statement. “This plan already has the critical support of our majority note holders." As part of Gibson’s Chapter 11 filing a month ago, Juszkiewicz and President David Berryman agreed to step down from their roles into advisory positions. The timing of those moves — which includes warrants to buy a combined 4.5 percent of the post-bankruptcy Gibson — has not yet been made public.

Cumulus Emerges from Bankruptcy Protection

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Atlanta-based Cumulus Media has emerged from chapter 11 protection, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. The deal with creditors will allow it to cut its debt by more than $1 billion. Its debt balance is now $1.3 billion, down from $2.34 billion, according to Cumulus. Cumulus, the second largest radio company in the U.S. behind IHeartMedia, filed for bankruptcy protection in November, 2017 with a pre-packaged deal. The company owns 446 radio stations nationwide in 90 markets. Cumulus was weighed down by debt since it purchased Citadel Broadcasting in 2011 valued at the time for $2.5 billion. The Dickey family — which launched and ran the company for two decades — didn't invest properly in programming and labor. As a result, both radio ratings and revenues suffered. Its financial problems led to Lew and John Dickey losing control of the company in 2015.

Maker of Necco Wafers Finds New Owner in Sweetheart Deal

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The Metropoulos family, known for turning around nostalgic household names like Hostess Brands and Chef Boyardee, is buying the maker of Necco wafers after a sale of the company behind the chalky treats to an Ohio candy maker fell apart, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Round Hill Investments LLC, the firm run by billionaire investor C. Dean Metropoulos and his sons Evan and Daren, has purchased the New England Confectionery Co. out of bankruptcy for $17.3 million. The sale, which a bankruptcy lawyer said closed on Thursday, comes days after a deal with Ohio’s Spangler Candy Co., the maker of Dum Dum lollipops, collapsed. Spangler had won a chapter 11 auction last week and agreed to pay $18.83 million for the pre-Civil War era candy maker. However, court papers show, Spangler wanted its purchase price adjusted to reflect a lower price, causing the sale to collapse. The failure of the Spangler sale left backup bidder Round Hill in position to acquire the 171-year-old candy maker.

Netflix Sues Relativity Over Breach of Exclusivity Deal

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Netflix sued Relativity Media on Friday, accusing the bankrupt mini-studio of violating an exclusivity agreement by providing five films to Amazon and Starz, Variety reported. The streaming service also accuses Relativity of failing to provide the required number of releases for 2017. Netflix is seeking $12.6 million in damages for the exclusivity violations, plus $5 million for each film Relativity failed to deliver. Relativity declared bankruptcy last month for the second time in three years, as it seeks a court-approved sale to UltraV Holdings. Since emerging from the first bankruptcy in 2016, Relativity founder Ryan Kavanaugh has been unable to raise fresh capital to produce new films.

Cambridge Analytica Revenue Fell as Questions About Data Tactics Surfaced

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Cambridge Analytica LLC enjoyed good results for 2016, when it worked for the campaign that helped to elect President Donald Trump, but its business declined sharply in the next year as questions mounted about its tactics, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Revenue at the data-mining company was only about $5 million in 2017, after topping $25 million a year earlier, according to new bankruptcy-court records. Cambridge — facing allegations that it misused information culled from Facebook Inc. — and its related SCL Group of companies are shutting down under the supervision of courts in the U.K. and the U.S. Court papers filed on Thursday in New York by Cambridge Analytica and its sister company, SCL USA Inc., offer only a partial glimpse into the affairs of the company controlled by the daughters of billionaire Robert Mercer. In March, British data-privacy authorities seized the servers that contain most of Cambridge Analytica’s “financial and other records,” and the authorities, the Information Commissioner’s Office of the U.K., won’t give them back, the court papers say.

Court Considers Questions on Loan Forgiveness for Defrauded Students

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After granting student borrowers a temporary victory last month against the Department of Education, a federal judge this week will consider larger questions about whether all Corinthian Colleges students misled by their former institution should get full relief of their student loan debt, Inside Higher Ed reported. A handful of former Corinthian borrowers, represented by the Project on Predatory Lending at Harvard University, are suing the department over a plan, announced in December, to award partial relief of student loan debt to defrauded borrowers. Federal Magistrate Sallie Kim ruled last month that the system violated the Privacy Act by improperly using average earning data from Social Security records, and issued an injunction against collecting on those loan debts. What remains at question, though, is whether a de facto policy previously existed at the department that dictates any misled borrowers who attended Corinthian institutions should get full debt relief. If such a policy did exist, it could aid the arguments of borrowers seeking full debt relief. Kim will hold a hearing today to try to determine whether a so-called Corinthian rule was in place at the department, as well as other questions involving loan forgiveness for defrauded students.

Judge Approve Stalking-Horse Bid for Garces Group

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The Garces Restaurant Group is officially up for sale, after a contentious month-long process, the Philadelphia Business Journal reported. Chef Jose Garces' eponymous restaurant group earlier this month announced it filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and intended to sell for over $5 million to Louisiana-based Ballard Brands, which owns the PJ's Coffee franchise in New Orleans, among others. A federal judge on Wednesday awarded the Louisiana hospitality company stalking-horse status, with a current bid of $6.6 million, which sets that figure as the low-end bar on bids. Additional bids have a June 21 deadline. If there are competing bids, there will be an auction on June 26 at Greenberg Traurig in Philadelphia.