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Longview Power Wins Court Approval to Exit Bankruptcy

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Longview Power LLC, the operator of a 700-megawatt, coal-fired power plant in West Virginia, won court approval yesterday to exit bankruptcy with a plan that relies on a key settlement reached with contractors and an insurer, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported today. The plan restructures more than $1 billion in debt and gives Longview $275 million in new financing to fund its exit from bankruptcy. The money is crucial, an official for the company said in a court filing, because the West Virginia plant is undergoing repairs and not generating electricity to sell. Current funds are also dwindling, according to the filing. The lynchpin of the plan is a settlement that resulted from lengthy arbitration with Norwegian construction firm Kvaerner ASA and Siemens AG, which built portions of the power plant. The dispute was over more than $335 million in liens the builders had argued were superior to Longview's top-ranking debt. The settlement also ended litigation between Longview and insurer First American Title Insurance Co. over the payout of a policy covering the builders' senior claims.

San Bernardino Defends CalPERS Payment Plan in Bankruptcy

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Defending its plan to fully repay its debts to CalPERS, the bankrupt city of San Bernardino has asked a judge to dismiss a lawsuit by creditors demanding equal treatment, the Sacramento Bee reported today. The city’s motion is the latest chapter in the ongoing saga over public pensions in California and how they’re treated in bankruptcy. The judge overseeing Stockton, Calif.’s case ruled last fall that municipal pension plans can be altered just like any contract in bankruptcy, but he also approved the city’s plan to keep paying CalPERS in full in order to preserve its retirement program. A similar fight is playing out in San Bernardino, which filed for chapter 9 municipal bankruptcy in 2012. After months of bickering, the city said that it planned to pay its $24 million-a-year CalPERS bill in full and had begun repaying the big pension fund millions of dollars in past-due payments. Two of San Bernardino’s creditors filed suit over that plan in January: Luxembourg bank EEPK and Ambac Assurance Corp., a New York bond insurer. They’re seeking repayment on a $59 million bond issued by the city in 2005.

Radioshack Unsecured Creditors Subpoena Loan, Swap Documents

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A skeptical unsecured creditors’ committee in the RadioShack Corp. case issued more than a dozen subpoenas as part of an investigation into whether bankruptcy was necessary for the electronics retailer, now trying to sell its 4,000 stores, Bloomberg News reported on Friday. The committee asked advisors and business partners to provide all documents related to pre-petition loans and credit-default swaps late last year and, if relevant documents were destroyed, to explain why. The Fort Worth-based company sought bankruptcy protection in February citing $1.39 billion of debt.

Judge Clears Trump to Exit Bankruptcy, But Hurdles Remain

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Trump Entertainment Resorts on Thursday was cleared to exit bankruptcy proceedings, following a series of deals with former foes, including Donald and Ivanka Trump, who abandoned efforts to reclaim their brand from the downtrodden Atlantic City, N.J., boardwalk gambling operation, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported today. The confirmation decision by Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross, however, wasn't the last word on the future of the casino company, which has been at odds with the union representing more than 1,100 casino workers for much of its stay under chapter 11 protection. Unite Here Local 54 marched on Friday to protest the loss of health care and retirement rights allegedly at the hands of its secured lender and new owner — activist investor Carl Icahn.

Revel Denied in Third Attempt at Selling $2.4 Billion Casino

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Revel AC Inc. failed in its third attempt to sell its bankrupt casino, opening the door for other potential bidders for the Atlantic City, N.J., resort, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. After months of false starts, Revel finally reached an $82 million deal with Florida real estate investor Glenn Straub’s Polo North Country Club Inc. Bankruptcy Judge Gloria Burns shot down that sale at a Friday hearing in Camden, N.J., saying that she can’t approve it because an earlier version of the deal is still being weighed by another court. After opening at a cost of $2.4 billion in 2012, Revel sought bankruptcy protection in June for the second time in as many years. It closed in September after failing to draw interest for a quick sale. The casino was one of four in Atlantic City to fold last year as competition from surrounding states lured away customers. The bankrupt casino owner originally had a $110 million deal with Toronto-based Brookfield Property Partners LP, but Brookfield walked away after failing to come to terms over energy payments. Straub, who had been the lead bidder at auction, stepped back in to scoop up the property but failed to close the $95.4 million sale by a Feb. 9 deadline. Revel moved to terminate the deal after the closing date lapsed.

Saladworks Receives Auction Approvals over Objections

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A bankruptcy judge granted a number of requests from fresh salad franchiser Saladworks LLC Wednesday, siding with the company and its majority owner and warning the feuding parties to keep their rhetoric in check, Dow Jones Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported today. "The rhetoric in the filings is unhelpful," said Judge Laurie Selber Silverstein, who was appointed to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., last October. "I don't want to read through 10 pages of why the other guy is wrong — not wrong, but bad — and all the things that have happened before I get to the substance of the dispute."

Analysis: Exide’s Stand on Bondholders to Be Tested

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Exide Technologies Inc. is proposing to exit bankruptcy largely being the property of senior secured noteholders, but some of those noteholders won’t be getting a slice of the reorganized battery company, which some believe could be sold for far more than the value assigned to it in estimates on file with the bankruptcy court, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Instead, senior secured noteholders who bought Exide’s debt will get something that they estimate is worth nothing or next to it because they don’t qualify as “accredited investors” under a definition established by the Securities and Exchange Commission and invoked by Exide. Generally speaking, the measurement is money, and investors that don’t have enough of it are believed to be “incapable of protecting or reasoning for themselves,” investor James Reise said in a letter to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del. Exide filed for bankruptcy protection in that court in 2013 and has watched its bond prices suffer during struggles with regulators. Exide’s chapter 11 payout scheme has been tweaked so that not even very wealthy, well-advised accredited investors qualify for a cut of the equity. The distinction between people and institutions is becoming an issue for Exide’s chapter 11 plan confirmation, a March 27 court session that will test the legality of its restructuring strategy. (Subscription required.)
 
In related news, Exide Technologies has agreed to shutter its lead-acid battery recycling facility in Vernon, Calif., and pay $50 million in clean-up costs to avoid criminal prosecution for illegal storage of hazardous waste, Reuters reported yesterday. As part of a deal reached on Wednesday with the U.S. Attorney's Office in California's central district, Exide also admitted to storing lead-contaminated hazardous waste inside leaking van trailers on a number of occasions over the past two decades. Exide will "immediately and permanently cease" recycling operations at the plant, demolish the facility and clean up any groundwater contamination at the site and surrounding neighborhoods, according to the agreement.

RadioShack Warns Stockholders Not to Expect Any Recovery in Bankruptcy Proceedings

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RadioShack Corp. reiterated its belief that there will be no recovery for any holders of its common stock in its pending bankruptcy proceedings, MarketWatch.com reported today. The failed consumer electronics retailer made its statement in light of the trading volume of its stock, which closed yesterday at 18 cents, on volume of 1.08 million shares. It had closed as high as 21 cents earlier this week. RadioShack said that it believes that the claims of its secured and unsecured creditors will not be fully satisfied, leading to the conclusion that RadioShack common stock has no value, the company said in a statement.

Chassix Files for Chapter 11 Protection

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Chassix Holdings Inc., a parts supplier to large automakers, filed for chapter 11 protection yesterday with a prepacakaged restructuring plan that has the support of a majority of its bondholders, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday. Chassix, owned by private-equity firm Platinum Equity LLC, had been working in February on a restructuring plan that would hand ownership stakes to creditors in exchange for debt forgiveness and would rework contracts with big automakers including General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler. The Southfield, Mich.-based company said in a court filing yesterday that it has $833 million in assets and $784 million in liabilities. Stress on its facility in Bristol, Ind., in particular, including equipment failures and delays, led to daily losses there of between $350,000 and $500,000 by the fourth quarter of last year. The company, which has more than 4,500 employees, makes steering knuckles, control arms and brake components.

Trump Taj Mahal Survives Bankruptcy by Joining Icahn Empire

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Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc.’s Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, N.J., will survive as part of billionaire Carl Icahn’s empire under a bankruptcy restructuring plan approved yesterday by a federal judge, Bloomberg News reported. Trump Entertainment, which also owns the shuttered Trump Plaza, adds to Icahn’s gaming venues in the downtrodden seaside town, joining the Tropicana, which the investor acquired out of bankruptcy five years ago. “The Taj will remain open,” Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross said at a hearing. The decision by Gross brings to a close a bankruptcy during which Trump Entertainment found itself on the brink of liquidation multiple times. The company had threatened to close the Taj Mahal over disputes with its union. Trump Entertainment filed for bankruptcy Sept. 9 and shut the Plaza days later. It was one of four Atlantic City casinos that closed last year as the New Jersey gambling hub was battered by competition from surrounding states. Lenders controlled by Icahn provided Trump Entertainment $20 million in bankruptcy financing to help fund operations until the turnaround plan takes effect.