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Scout Media Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

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Digital sports network Scout Media Inc. filed for chapter 11 protection with plans to sell what remains of the business at an auction next month, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. The sports media company on Friday asked a bankruptcy judge for immediate access to a $6.2 million lifeline from Multiplier Capital LP. Without the new financing, lawyers for the company said in court papers that it would be forced to cease its operations. According to court papers filed on Friday with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, a “perfect storm of an unsustainable balance sheet” as well as financial pressures caused by the abrupt departure of the company’s chief executive left the ailing business with no choice but to try to place its assets in the hands of a new owner as quickly as possible. Scout Media has been exploring the possibility of a sale since September, court papers show, but no formal offers have materialized. With the help of a consultant, the company contacted 154 potential buyers, of which 20 have expressed interest but haven’t put forward bids.

50 Cent Wins Big Settlement That Will Help Pay Debts From Bankruptcy

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Hip hop star 50 Cent has won a $14.5 million settlement against the lawyers who represented him in a deal with a headphone company that helped propel him into bankruptcy in July 2015, the Hartford Courant reported today. The failed deal with Sleek Audio resulted in an $18.4 million settlement against 50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis James Jackson III. Sleek Audio was Jackson's largest creditor in his chapter 11 petition and ultimately settled for $17.5 million. Jackson's bankruptcy reorganization was approved this summer. Any settlement from the law firm Garvey Schubert Barer was factored into 50 Cent's reorganization plan and the bulk of the $14.5 million, or $13.649 million, will go to creditors. The rest will go to the lawyers who represented Jackson in the claim against the law firm. Jackson has a date in U.S. Bankruptcy Court Dec. 15, where he'll seek Judge Ann M. Nevins’ approval of the settlement.

Judge: Receiver Can Keep Control of Lodge on the Desert for Now

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Bankruptcy Judge Brenda Moody Whinery ruled yesterday that the historic Lodge on the Desert will remain under control of a receiver appointed by a state court, at least until continuation of the hotel’s chapter 11 bankruptcy case is decided in January, the Arizona Daily Star reported today. In late November, hotel owner Lodge Partners filed its second chapter 11 bankruptcy in three years, saying that it had arranged a short-term loan and longer-term financing to successfully reorganize the business. The company had defaulted on payments required under a chapter 11 bankruptcy case filed in 2013 and closed last year. The hotel’s major secured creditor, Palatine Tucson LLC, filed a foreclosure action and prompted a state court to appoint a receiver for the hotel in early November. A foreclosure sale of the hotel was scheduled for Jan. 5.

American Apparel Sets Date for Auctioning Off Its Business

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American Apparel set the date for the bankruptcy auction of its manufacturing, retail and wholesale business, likely delaying layoffs slated to affect as many as 3,457 employees in Southern California, the Los Angeles Times reported today. The Los Angeles clothier, which in November filed for bankruptcy for the second time, told workers yesterday that the auction has been scheduled for Jan. 9 and 12. It does “not anticipate” any layoffs on Jan. 7 — the initial date when cuts were scheduled to occur. After the auction, “we will have more clarity on the go-forward plan,” Craig Simmons, the chief human resources officer, wrote in a letter to employees, “depending on which buyer or buyers succeed, and how they wish to move forward.” Gildan Activewear, a Canadian sportswear firm that has already bid $66 million for American Apparel's intellectual property rights and some other assets, has indicated its interest in maintaining at least a portion of manufacturing in the U.S.

Reality TV Star Teresa Giudice Wins Bankruptcy Court Battle, Still Awaits Big Ruling

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Bankruptcy Court Judge Stacey Meisel in Newark yesterday denied a motion opposing a proposed settlement in which "Real Housewives of New Jersey" star Teresa Giudice agrees to share potential winnings from her pending malpractice suit with her remaining creditors, NJ.com reported. The settlement itself still has not been ruled upon by Judge Meisel — though it does appear headed towards approval. The motion denied yesterday was made by James Kridel, the attorney Giudice is suing over his handling of her 2009 bankruptcy. The "Real Housewives" star charges that Kridel's bad advice and mistakes landed her in prison for bankruptcy fraud, a claim Kridel disputes. In the motion, Kridel challenged the proposed bankruptcy settlement, which would allow Giudice to keep 55 percent of any potential winnings in her lawsuit against Kridel, with the remaining 45 percent going to her creditors. Her lawyers Anthony Rainone and Carlos Cuevas would also represent the bankruptcy trustee as part of the malpractice lawsuit against Kridel.

Abengoa's U.S. Unit, Holdout Creditor Spar over Bankruptcy Plan

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A U.S. subsidiary of Spanish renewable energy firm Abengoa SA pressed a judge yesterday to approve its plan to exit bankruptcy over objections from a holdout creditor, who said that the plan violated U.S. law by favoring the company's foreign parent, Reuters reported. After more than three hours of testimony and arguments, Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Carey in Wilmington, Del., said he wanted additional written submissions from the parties. He did not say when he would rule. Abeinsa Holding Inc is one of dozens of global Abengoa subsidiaries that filed for chapter 11 and 15 bankruptcy this year while their Seville-based parent thrashed out a debt restructuring deal in Spain to avoid its own bankruptcy. The U.S. subsidiaries, which range from small ethanol plants to construction and engineering firms like Abeinsa, were guarantors of $10 billion of debt held by the parent.

California Gas Power Plant La Paloma Files for Chapter 11

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A natural gas-fired power plant in California that earlier this year warned it might need to shut down filed for chapter 11 protection yesterday, blaming "inhospitable" regulations and a shift toward renewable energy for power generation, Reuters reported. La Paloma Generating Co LLC, a 1,200 megawatt combined cycle plant about 110 miles northwest of Los Angeles, filed for chapter 11 in Delaware yesterday citing $524 million of debt. In its filing, La Paloma said market factors including slower-than-expected growth in electricity demand and a rise in renewable generation resources in California were "exacerbated by an inhospitable regulatory environment." La Paloma is owned by Rockland Capital LLC, one of several California plant owners that has asked the state for help in offsetting losses, arguing that it is in the state's interest to support the natural gas plants because they provide stability and reliability to the power grid.

Court Confirms Key Energy’s Bankruptcy Exit Plan

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Key Energy Services Inc., an oil-well servicer, yesterday won court approval of its restructuring plan, slightly more than a month after filing for bankruptcy protection, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Bankruptcy Judge Brendan Shannon approved the plan, which is designed to reduce Key’s debt load to $250 million from $1 billion. Key said that it hopes to emerge from bankruptcy this month. Key plans to sell up to $110 million in new stock in a rights offering, the proceeds of which will help it pay down such debts as $290 million owed to term lenders. In addition to a cash payment, these lenders will also get cash new debt. Under the plan, bondholders are slated to receive most of the company’s new shares in exchange for forgiveness of $675 million in debt. Certain bondholders, like Silver Point Capital LP and Soros Fund Management LLC, will pick up additional shares in the rights offering. Read more. (Subscription required.) 

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Caesars Unit's Bank Lenders Threaten to End Bankruptcy Deal

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The bank lenders of Caesars Entertainment Corp.’s operating unit said that they might walk away from a plan to bring the casino unit out of its $18 billion bankruptcy, potentially sending a high-stakes reorganization plan into disarray, Reuters reported yesterday. The committee of bank lenders, which includes Blackstone Group LP's GSO Capital Partners, has yet to resolve a dispute over the terms of their recovery, their lawyer Kristopher Hansen said at a hearing yesterday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Chicago. Hansen said that the lenders would inform the court on the status of a deal by Dec. 14, a month before a scheduled confirmation trial in Caesars Entertainment Operating Co Inc.’s long-running bankruptcy case. Without a deal, Hansen said the committee would terminate a restructuring support agreement, forcing the confirmation trial to be postponed beyond its scheduled Jan. 17 date.