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YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh Files for Bankruptcy, Downtown Y to Close

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The YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh has filed for bankruptcy protection and will close its downtown Pittsburgh facility in June, the organization announced yesterday, WPXI.com reported. Officials said they filed for chapter 11 protection on Tuesday and plan to reorganize so it can continue to provide services and programs to the community. The YMCA’s downtown facility, Downtown Y, will close June 8. Those employees will be transferred within the organization’s other 11 facilities, officials said. Its center, camps, before-and after-school care, and wellness programs will continue to operate uninterrupted.

A’Gaci Unveils Recoveries Under Chapter 11 Plan

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A’Gaci LLC’s unsecured creditors will recover about 22 cents on the dollar of the $19 million that they are owed, according to the reorganization plan of the bankrupt retailer of clothing and shoes for young women, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The San Antonio-based company unveiled the estimated recoveries in chapter 11 court papers filed this week that also show that secured creditors, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America Corp., are expected to be made whole. A’Gaci has received no serious offers for its business during its bankruptcy proceedings. A March 26 deadline for qualified bids came and went with no offers being made for its assets. As a result, an auction and a sales hearing scheduled for last month were canceled. The retailer continues to restructure its operations with the hopes of leaving bankruptcy by late July, the filing shows.

Premium Point Founder, Others Charged with Inflating Assets

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Federal prosecutors yesterday charged the founder of New York investment firm Premium Point Investments LP and two former members of the firm with inflating the value of assets held by the firm’s hedge funds by more than $200 million, Reuters reported. In an indictment unsealed in Manhattan federal court, prosecutors charged Premium Point founder Anilesh Ahuja, former partner Amin Majidi and former trader Jeremy Shor with securities fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission also announced related civil charges against them. The three men were taken into custody yesterday morning and are expected to appear in Manhattan federal court later in the day, according to prosecutors. Premium Point, which specialized in mortgage-related investments through hedge and private equity funds, managed assets valued at more than $5 billion at its peak, according to prosecutors. It filed for bankruptcy in March, court records show.

Weinstein Co. Unsecured Creditors Want Sale Proceeds Allocated in Repayment Plan

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Weinstein Co.’s unsecured creditors committee is calling to have lenders’ claims for repayment dealt with in a chapter 11 plan, and not sooner, as the bankrupt studio nears a $310 million sale to private-equity firm Lantern Capital Partners, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The committee, whose members include alleged victims of studio co-founder Harvey Weinstein, said yesterday in a court filing in Wilmington, Del., that the distribution of sale proceeds to cover debt incurred before bankruptcy should only be made through a negotiated repayment plan that is approved by a judge. Lender Bank of America NA has sought immediate repayment for a secured debt, which is given higher priority on repayment in chapter 11. Bank of America is the administrative agent on a term loan for Weinstein Co.’s television business for which the bank says at least $18.1 million is owed, court papers say. A separate lender, controlled by billionaire Len Blavatnik and owed more than $46 million, has sought to put proceeds in an escrow account.

Analysis: Theranos Cost Business and Government Leaders More Than $600 Million

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A who’s who of government, business and international finance lost a total of more than $600 million they had invested in scandal-plagued Theranos Inc., according to previously sealed documents made public in a lawsuit, the Wall Street Journal reported. High on the list is Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, whose family invested $100 million in the Silicon Valley blood-testing company, the documents show. DeVos had previously disclosed that her family was a Theranos investor in a government filing, but the size of the investment wasn’t known. President Donald Trump’s education secretary is among a number of prominent figures who poured money into Theranos between 2013 and 2015 before a series of Wall Street Journal articles revealed that the company was encountering problems with its technology and misleading its investors.

Bank of America's Loan to Remington Tests its Firearms Pledge

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Bank of America Corp. is preparing to provide critical financing to Remington Outdoor Co., which makes assault-type rifles, just weeks after the U.S. bank said it would stop financing “military-style” firearms for civilians, Reuters reported. The bank is contributing $43.2 million to a $193 million lending package funded by seven banks, according to court documents, which will help put Remington back on stable footing as it emerges from bankruptcy later this month into an uncertain environment for gun makers. The package replaces a similar credit facility the banks committed to providing Remington. Both were agreed in late March, before Bank of America, the second-largest U.S. bank by assets, changed its policy to stop financing companies that make military-style guns for civilian use. Anne Finucane, Bank of America’s vice chair, said in April that the bank had decided on its pledge to help reduce mass shootings, saying in an interview with Bloomberg TV that “it is not our intent to underwrite or finance military-style firearms on a go-forward basis.” The comment came weeks after a school shooting in Parkland, Florida, triggered a new movement for gun control, led in part by student survivors, increasing pressure on U.S. companies to seek to distance themselves from the firearms industry.

Bay Area Regional Medical Center Announces Closure and Bankruptcy

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Bay Area Regional Medical Center will close early next week and file for bankruptcy, the hospital said Friday. It was the second announced closure of a local hospital in the last six months, the Houston Chronicle reported. CEO Stephen K. Jones Jr. told employees in an email provided to the Chronicle that the company "was not able to overcome significant hurdles with managed-care companies." An estimated 900 employees will lose their jobs. Patient moveouts began immediately. The 191-bed hospital, which is owned by locally based Medistar Corp. and offers emergency, surgical and a range of other medical services, opened four years ago just a half-mile from the more established Clear Lake Regional Medical Center. 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. 

'Iron Chef' from Philly Announces Bankruptcy, Sale of Restaurant Empire

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An "Iron Chef" from Philadelphia has announced he's filing for bankruptcy and selling his restaurant empire, the Associated Press reported. Jose Garces filed for chapter 11 protection on Wednesday and a Louisiana hospitality company has offered to buy the Garces Group for $5 million. Garces gained fame after winning the second season of Food Network's "The Next Iron Chef." The 45-year-old has previously blamed his financial collapse on the closing of Atlantic City's Revel casino and the four restaurants he operated there and the closing of the Amada location he opened in New York. Garces says his restaurants will operate as usual, and he expects few job cuts once Ballard Brands takes over. The deal is expected to close in 45 to 60 days.

Guitar Maker Gibson Brands' $135 Million in DIP Financing Approved by Court

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Bankrupt guitar maker Gibson Brands Inc. said that its $135 million debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing was authorized by the bankruptcy courts, which will help the company maintain daily operations, MarketWatch.com reported. Gibson said that the courts also approved the company's use of its existing cash management systems and bank accounts, which allows it to issue payments, pay trade vendors and honor outstanding checks. "Today's approval of our first-day motions is encouraging and puts Gibson on a strong footing as we move forward with our reorganization with the support of a majority of our noteholders," said Chief Executive Henry Juszkiewicz. Gibson, which filed for bankruptcy on May 1, expects to emerge for bankruptcy by the fourth quarter of 2018.