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Westinghouse Accuses Investors of Trying to Drive Up Claim Value

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Westinghouse Electric Co. says investors that bought their way into the company’s bankruptcy are now attempting to drive up the value of a $2 billion settlement purchased last year from the owners of an unfinished nuclear power plant in South Carolina, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The dispute stems from the sale of monetary claims asserted in Westinghouse’s ongoing chapter 11, a common development in large corporate bankruptcies that can affect negotiations between creditors and a company as it attempts to reorganize its business. The claims, among the largest to be resolved in the bankruptcy, concern the V.C. Summer power plant near Jenkinsville, South Carolina. Westinghouse said in a letter filed on Monday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York that the new owners of the power-plant claim, a group of investors represented in court by Citibank NA, are raising new negligence and misconduct allegations against the company that would push the value of their claim to $7.5 billion. In court papers, Westinghouse has said that amount is billions of dollars in excess of what they may be entitled to.

Judge Approves Oi Restructuring, Says Shareholders Meeting Not Needed

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The judge overseeing the restructuring process of Brazilian telecom company Oi SA yesterday approved a massive debt restructuring plan and called a proposed shareholders meeting “absolutely unnecessary,” Reuters reported. In the decision, Judge Fernando Viana gave the official go-ahead to Latin America’s largest ever in-court debt reorganization. On Dec. 20, a majority of Oi creditors approved a plan to restructure 65 billion reais ($20.1 billion) of debt, putting an end to a year and a half of negotiations. The plan upset major shareholders, however, as it hands up to 75 percent of the company to creditors that include distressed debt funds, such as Aurelius Capital Management, and severely dilutes equity.

Atlantic City's Failed Revel Casino Sells for $200 Million

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Revel, the failed $2.4 billion casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, built as a high-end playground for Wall Street bankers, sold for $200 million to a Colorado developer who plans to reopen it under the name Ocean Resort Casino, Bloomberg News reported. The Revel opened in 2012 as the tallest building in the seashore town with Beyoncé as its headliner. It closed two years later after two trips to bankruptcy court, and a judge allowed Florida developer Glenn Straub to buy the property for $82 million in 2016. Bruce Deifik, founder of Denver-based Integrated Properties, on Monday confirmed he bought the casino from Straub. Deifik said the 1,400-room property would open by summer, creating as many as 3,000 local jobs. In a nod to prior criticisms of the property as well as to attract new customers, Deifik said he planned to add an Asian noodle bar and a high-end players’ club. JPMorgan Chase & Co. provided financing for the deal, Jordan Deifik, chief operating officer of Integrated Properties, said in an interview.

Takata Recalls Another 3.3 Million Air Bags Under U.S. Order

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Takata Corp., the parts supplier that filed for bankruptcy after sparking the largest auto recall in history, called back 3.3 million air bags as part of a U.S. order that scheduled repairs of the potentially deadly devices over several years, Bloomberg News reported. The supplier identified at least 15 automakers that purchased the air bags, including Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co., General Motors Co., BMW AG and Tesla Inc. Takata said that it will work with the companies to develop a remedy for each of their vehicles, and urge consumers to get their air bags replaced. Defective Takata inflators can explode in a crash and spray vehicle occupants with metal shards. The parts have been linked to 13 deaths in the U.S. and hundreds of injuries, and mounting liabilities from the recalls pushed Takata to file for bankruptcy in June. Key Safety Systems Inc., a supplier owned by China’s Ningbo Joyson Electronic Corp., plans to acquire the company.

Seadrill Bondholders Post Cash Deposit for Rival Restructuring

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Owners of unsecured bonds in rig firm Seadrill have posted a cash deposit to back an alternative financial restructuring, paving the way for talks with the drilling operator over its future, Reuters reported. Seadrill, once the largest drilling rig operator by market value, filed for bankruptcy protection in a U.S. court on Sept. 12 after being hit hard by cutbacks in oil company investment following a steep drop in crude prices. The company’s main owner, Norwegian-born billionaire John Fredriksen, drew up Seadrill’s original $1.1 billion restructuring plan with Centerbridge Partners L.P. and a group of hedge funds in September. A U.S. bankruptcy court in Texas had been scheduled to hold a preliminary hearing on Fredriksen’s plan on Jan. 10, but this has been postponed until Feb. 1 after the payment of a deposit for a rival solution.

Breitburn Energy Equity Committee Challenges Bankruptcy Exit Plan

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A committee representing Breitburn Energy Partners LP equity security holders is attempting to shoot down its bankruptcy exit plan by taking aim at a proposal to award company leadership with equity in the reorganized business, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The committee submitted an objection on Thursday to Breitburn’s chapter 11 plan, arguing that the proposed reorganization is premised on an artificially low valuation of the business made by the company’s investment bank, Lazard Frères & Co. LLC. The valuation ensures existing equity will be wiped out, the objection said. A judge is expected to consider approving the plan at a court hearing this week.

SEC Takes Aim at Sales Agents in Alleged Woodbridge Ponzi Scheme

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Securities regulators are sounding an alarm in the bankruptcy of Woodbridge Group, warning that sales agents that got rich off the alleged Ponzi scheme are trying to steer the bankrupt real-estate company clear of an independent trustee, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Two of those sales agents, top moneymaker Lynette Robbins and Barry Kornfeld, who was barred from association with any broker, dealer, or investment adviser at the time he was out raising money for Woodbridge, deny any wrongdoing in connection with their roles in Woodbridge’s bankruptcy. Kornfeld said that the investments he sold to raise money for Woodbridge weren’t securities, so he wasn’t required to disclose his regulatory history when seeking to sway his clients on the question of who should run the company.

Fort Worth Oil Family of Former Quicksilver Resources Returns to Bankruptcy Court

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Thomas “Toby” Darden, who watched the Barnett Shale natural gas field pioneer Quicksilver Resources slip into bankruptcy, returned to federal court this week to seek protection for ranch and energy holdings in West Texas, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported. Darden is seeking chapter 11 reorganization protection for four companies under the KC7 Ranch umbrella. The companies control significant assets near the oil-rich Permian Basin, including a 31,737-acre ranch in the Davis Mountain range that is already for sale for $52 million. The entities, listed as parent company KC7 Holdings, KC7 Ranch, KC7 GP and KC7 Partners, reported $50 million to $100 million in assets and $10 million to $50 million in liabilities, according to bankruptcy records. Darden initially filed for bankruptcy for the ranch Dec. 28 and the other companies on Monday.

Washington, D.C., Weekly Newspaper Publisher Files for Bankruptcy

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Current Newspapers Inc., a 50-year-old publisher of weeklies serving northwest Washington, D.C., filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy Wednesday, just months after Gannett Co. sued it over unpaid printing bills, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Current Newspapers owes almost $1.3 million to unsecured creditors, including about $180,000 to Gannett, and has assets of less than $50,000, according to the filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Washington, D.C. In the bankruptcy filing, Current cited “an interruption in cash flow resulting from outside printing costs” as a reason for seeking to reorganize in bankruptcy court. Gannett sued Current last September in Superior Court of the District of Columbia, and the court record shows Current Newspapers Chairman Davis Kennedy pleading for more time to pay off the debt and warning that it could end up in bankruptcy.

U.S. Trustee: Court Should Demand More Info on Seadrill Restructuring

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A U.S. court should dismiss the information provided by drilling rig firm Seadrill about its restructuring plan as inadequate, the U.S. Trustee said in a filing on Wednesday, Reuters reported. The U.S. Trustee said that the bankruptcy court in Texas should reject Seadrill’s “disclosure statement” on its restructuring proposal, a move that would require the Norwegian company to revise its statement and could delay the process. Seadrill, once the largest drilling rig operator by market value, filed for bankruptcy protection in a U.S. court on Sept. 12 after being hit hard by cutbacks in oil company investment following a steep drop in oil prices. The company’s main owner, Norwegian-born billionaire John Fredriksen, has drawn up a $1.1 billion restructuring plan with Centerbridge Partners L.P. and a group of hedge funds. The court, which has to approve the disclosure statement before the plan can be put to a vote by creditors, is due to hold a hearing on Jan. 10.