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Ironclad Performance Wear Corporation, best known for its performance work gloves, announced that the company and its subsidiary filed voluntary petitions under chapter 11 protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California on Friday, according to a press release. The company’s chapter 11 cases are expected to be jointly administered. During the duration of the chapter 11 cases, Ironclad will continue in the possession of its assets and will continue to operate and manage its business in the ordinary course, including continuing the development, manufacture and sale of its high-performance task-specific work gloves, pending the sale of substantially all of its assets pursuant to a sale under Sect. 363 of the Bankruptcy Code. The company intends to request court approval of a series of customary motions related to the payment of various expenses to continue operations. 

Ailing retailer rue21 got a fresh start in bankruptcy court, and its exiting owners, Apax Partners, got out from under the threat of lawsuits from vendors, landlords and other creditors owed $409 million, the Wall Street Journal reported today. A seller of low-cost apparel and accessories to young adults, rue21 blamed “an evolution in customer tastes” and competition from online sellers of goods for its financial distress, and closed 396 stores. Rue21 expects to have 780 stores in operation when it exits bankruptcy, court papers said. When it emerges from bankruptcy, rue21 will have beaten the odds against large store chains. Retailers such as Sports Authority and American Apparel, once familiar sights in shopping areas across the country, were swept under and liquidated in bankruptcy. Reorganized, rue21 will be worth from $340 million to $465 million, its advisers estimate, with $700 million in financial debt erased from the books. Read more. (Subscription required.) 

What does the future hold for retail bankruptcies? Be sure to attend ABI’s Bankruptcy 2017: Views from the Bench on October 17. 

The Original Soupman Inc., the soup chain and wholesaler made famous by the "Seinfeld" television series, won court approval this week to sell all of its assets, Dow Jones Newswires reported on Friday. Bankruptcy Judge <b>Laurie Silverstein</b> signed off on the sale Thursday, court papers show. The approval comes a week after Judge Silverstein expressed concerns about the nature of the sale process, sending the company and its buyer back to the drawing board, Soupman attorney Jeremy Johnson said. The company licenses the recipes, likeness and name of Al Yeganeh, the man who inspired the "Soup Nazi" character on "Seinfeld." It sought bankruptcy protection in mid-June, soon after one of its former top executives was indicted on charges of tax evasion.

Cherry Growers Inc. will be able to continue operating under chapter 11 protection while it reorganizes its business operations, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Scott Dales ruled on Friday, MLive.com reported. The order came after the processor and its bankers assured Dales that it would not burn through cash that may be owed to growers under a federal law that prevents processors from defaulting on their debts to growers. Headquartered in Grawn, Mich., near Traverse City, CGI is a 78-year-old cooperative in which ownership is shared by 53 Michigan cherry and apple growers. The company, which processes cherries and applies, employs about 75 workers.

A struggling iron ore mining project in Minnesota’s Iron Range is suing Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. for allegedly thwarting its efforts to emerge from bankruptcy by pressuring contractors and customers to cease business with the smaller company, Dow Jones Newswires reported on Friday. The lawsuit, filed Thursday by Mesabi Metallics Co. LLC, alleges Cleveland-Cliffs engaged in an “anticompetitive scheme to thwart competition by threatening contractors, local businesses and customers” to obstruct completion of the project and thwart Mesabi’s plan to refinance its business. Mesabi said in its lawsuit that some of its construction, engineering and legal contractors resigned unexpectedly in recent months. The lawsuit said that one longtime contractor, Barr Engineering Co., abruptly resigned in August because of alleged “threats and pressures from Cliffs … that it would cease doing current and future work with Barr” if it continued working on the Minnesota project.

The trustee liquidating part of New York taxi mogul Evgeny “Gene” Freidman’s holdings has found a bidder offering $7.7 million ahead of a planned auction to help repay former lender Citibank, the Wall Street Journal reported. Bankruptcy trustee Greg Messer said in court papers that a stalking horse, or lead, bidder had offered $167,500 for each of 46 taxi medallions owned by Freidman’s companies that have been stranded in the two-year-old bankruptcy case. The stalking-horse offer, which requires bankruptcy court approval, would put a floor under the medallions’ price at a public auction scheduled to take place Sept. 18 in East Elmhurst, N.Y. Details about the bidder, MGPE Inc., weren’t available in court papers. Bankruptcy Judge Carla Craig has scheduled a Sept. 25 hearing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Brooklyn to consider the auction results.

RadioShack is moving ahead with a reorganization that will save a sliver of the former electronics retailing icon, the Wall Street Journal reported today. The reorganized company will be comprised of online operations, a network of independent dealers and “between zero and 28” company-owned brick-and-mortar stores, as detailed in a chapter 11 exit plan that cleared preliminary court review yesterday. The company filed for bankruptcy protection in March, its second filing in two years. Fewer than 30 stores remain in operation from a chain that, before its first bankruptcy in 2015, numbered 4,400. It isn’t known yet whether any will survive, or whether RadioShack will retreat from brick-and-mortar operations entirely, and depend on independent dealers for sales. Judge Brendan Shannon set an Oct. 25 hearing date for confirmation of the chapter 11 plan for the company known as General Wireless Inc., which does business as RadioShack.

Children’s apparel retailer Gymboree Corp. said yesterday that the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia has confirmed its plan of reorganization, Reuters reported. The retailer also said a comprehensive recapitalization will be completed that will eliminate more than $900 million of debt. Kirkland & Ellis LLP is serving as the company’s legal counsel, AlixPartners LLP is serving as its financial advisor, and Lazard is serving as its investment bank, according to the statement. Gymboree had filed for chapter 11 protection in June 2017 with a plan to cut its debt by around $1 billion and close 375 stores. Read more.

What does the future hold for retail bankruptcies? Be sure to attend ABI’s Bankruptcy 2017: Views from the Bench on October 17. 

21st Century Oncology Holdings filed a motion in bankruptcy court to extend the exclusive period during which the company can file a chapter 11 plan and solicit acceptances thereof through and including January 20, 2018 and March 21, 2018, respectively, BankruptcyData.com reported yesterday. Despite having already filed a restructuring plan plan, the debtors are seeking an extension of the exclusivity periods in order to preserve their exclusive ability to file and solicit a new plan of reorganization, should unforeseen issues arise with respect to the confirmation of the plan. The court scheduled a September 19, 2017 hearing to consider the motion, with objections due by September 16, 2017.

Sempra Energy took a step forward yesterday in its pursuit of Oncor, the electricity transmissions business that has had takeover offers from a series of suitors, including, most recently, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Energy, Dow Jones Newswires reported. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Sontchi signed off on Sempra's proposed acquisition, which still needs approval from the Public Utility Commission of Texas. State regulators have squashed two earlier attempted buyouts of Oncor, one of the largest electricity transmissions businesses in the country. Oncor is owned largely by Energy Future Holdings Corp., a Dallas power company that has been operating under bankruptcy protection since 2014. Judge Sontchi yesterday authorized Energy Future to agree to sell its 80 percent stake in Oncor to Sempra. Sempra's paying $9.45 billion for the Oncor stake, compared with the $9 billion offered by Berkshire Hathaway. Additionally, Sempra is in line for a $190 million breakup fee if the deal sours, compared with the $270 million breakup fee Berkshire was asking.