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Another Texas power company has filed for bankruptcy protection in the wake of last year's historic winter storm that knocked out power for millions and caused energy prices to skyrocket, Reuters reported. Ector County Energy Center LLC, which filed for chapter 11 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware on Monday, was one of many power generators in the state unable to produce power during the storm. Facing extensive litigation, including a $400 million lawsuit brought by one of its customers, Direct Energy Business Marketing LLC, the company is looking sell its assets through bankruptcy. The company, which reported revenues of about $23 million in 2021, operates a 330 megawatt natural gas-fired plant located outside of Odessa, Texas. It has lined up a lead bid of $91.25 million from an affiliate of Rockland Capital. At the time of the storm, Ector had an agreement under which Direct Energy paid a monthly premium in exchange for the right to call on Ector to provide energy and various ancillary services, according to court papers. Ector was unable to deliver power or services during the storm, prompting Direct Energy to sue in New York state court in June 2021 for $400 million in damages. It has also been hit with more than 100 other lawsuits stemming from the storm. The company, which is an indirect unit of Invenergy Clean Power LLC, also saw its cash flow decline after the storm as it shifted from pre-set pricing models to operating largely in real-time energy markets, according to court papers. In addition to its legal troubles, Ector owes $337.3 million on a first lien loan. It had about $5.4 million in cash on hand as of April 1, 2022.

ION Geophysical Corp. and certain affiliates announced today that, after evaluating a variety of strategic alternatives, it has filed for voluntary chapter 11 relief in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, according to a press release. In connection with the chapter 11 filing, ION entered into a restructuring support agreement (RSA) with the lenders under its credit agreement and holders of approximately 80% of its 2025 Notes, whereby the parties agreed to support the company’s chapter 11 plan of reorganization. The company and the consenting creditors that are parties to the RSA have agreed to the terms of a comprehensive restructuring, including the Plan premised on (i) a debt-for-equity exchange paired with the potential sale of certain assets to one or more third parties or (ii) a sale of substantially all of its assets. Under the terms of the RSA, ION will continue its ongoing solicitation of interest from third parties in potential sale transactions involving the company designed to maximize the value of the company’s assets through an open and transparent process that enables interested buyers to submit bids for assets. The company has also secured $2.5 million in debtor-in-possession financing that, along with normal operating cash flows, should support operations during the process. Therefore, ION expects to continue delivering excellent service quality with little to no expected disruption to clients.

Sungard Availability Services, an information-technology services provider, filed for chapter 11 protection for the second time in three years to grapple with falling demand for its business-recovery services and other lingering challenges exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Privately held Sungard and its corporate affiliates filed for chapter 11 protection Monday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston and sought similar court protection in Canada. The bankruptcy filing comes weeks after Sungard’s U.K. affiliate initiated administrative proceedings in part because of high energy costs caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Wayne, Pa.-based Sungard sped through bankruptcy in 2019, winning approval of a creditor-backed debt-cutting plan just 24 hours after filing chapter 11. Sungard said Monday that while the previous bankruptcy was effective in trimming about $800 million in debt, the process didn’t address its fundamental problems, such as expensive leases that have weighed on its business. Sungard Chief Executive Officer Michael Robinson said in a sworn declaration that demand for its workplace-recovery services dropped significantly since its business customers adopted policies to work from home during the pandemic. Companies have also delayed or reduced their IT costs, prompting some customers not to renew contracts, Mr. Robinson said.

Enovational Corp., a D.C. technology firm that counts the state of Maryland as a major client, filed for chapter 11 protection March 26 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Columbia, the Washington Business Journal reported. This week saw the company lay off dozens and earn court approval to erase a major downtown D.C. office lease it had signed just last year. Founded in 2011, Enovational builds web portals and mobile apps for Apple and Android phones, among other services, and lists the Maryland Department of Transportation and the Maryland Department of Information Technology as clients, according to the company's website. The company has several ongoing contracts with Maryland's IT department, health department and cannabis commission, according to court filings. The company states in court filings that it believes it "may be able to continue in its business if relieved of certain contractual obligations and permitted to devote resources to collecting upon certain debts owed by its customers." The company reported in court filings $11.8 million in 2020 gross revenue, $22.3 million in 2021 and $2.8 million in 2022 from Jan. 1 through the date of the bankruptcy filing. In a hearing Tuesday before Judge Elizabeth Gunn, VerStandig and Enache said the company's financial problems "escalated quickly" and are tied to work orders with Maryland for which it has yet to be paid. The company is in the process of appealing with the state but in the meantime has a "very delicate" cash situation, VerStandig said.

Swissbakers, a bakery and cafe chain with locations in Allston and Reading, Mass., has filed for chapter 11 protection, with plans to reorganize and continue operations, the Boston Business Journal reported. The company opened its first retail store next to the Reading commuter-rail station in 2009, and in 2013 it opened a second location at the site of a former Volkswagen dealership on Western Avenue, near the Harvard Business School, in Allston. Swissbakers is still up and running, with business largely back to what it was before the pandemic, according to CEO Nicolas Stohr, the son of husband-and-wife founders Helene and Thomas Stohr. The Reading location sees less commuter traffic these days but about the same level of overall business as before, he said, and the same goes for Allston, where the location relies heavily on Harvard for customers and foot traffic. The company plans to file a reorganization plan this month, according to attorney Joseph Bodoff of Boston law firm Rubin and Rudman LLP.

Ruby Pipeline LLC, backed by Kinder Morgan Inc., filed for chapter 11 protection yesterday to restructure its debt, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Houston-based natural-gas pipeline company filed for bankruptcy voluntarily in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del. Ruby, directly owned by Ruby Investment Company LLC, listed assets and liabilities of as much as $1 billion each, according to the court filing. U.S. pipelines have been challenged by cheap Canadian gas recently. Ruby had about $90 million in cash at the end of last year and wasn’t expected to repay roughly $475 million of the senior notes due on April 1, 2022, according to Fitch Ratings. Ruby Pipeline listed at least 200 creditors. Its 6% senior bonds are due in April 2022, court papers showed. PJT Partners Inc. and Richards, Layton & Finger PA are advisers to the company. Read more.

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Rocking M Media and its associated companies that own 21 stations in central and western Kansas has filed for chapter 11 protection, Radio Insight reported. In the petition Rocking M claims $1,307,696.75 in assets and $22,365,886.40 in liabilities owed between its four holding companies. Bankruptcy attorney Sharon Stolte of Sandberg Phoenix & von Gontard, who is representing the company, told the Wichita Eagle that “We filed on Saturday, and we are hoping to reorganize. We will sell some of the stations that we find are not profitable, and we will reorganize the debt with the remaining stations.” The company is owned 1/3 each by Monte and Doris Miller and their son Christopher Miller. In its declaration the company blamed Christopher Miller for rapid expansion. He was removed from his position as company president in 2019, at which time he acquired four stations in its Salina cluster for the assumption of a $1,755,917.55 note.

A Salem Harbor, Mass., power plant backed by Oaktree Capital Management LP filed for bankruptcy protection to weather a $236 million arbitration award to its former contractor and pursue a dual-track restructuring to either sell itself or hand control to lenders, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Footprint Power Salem Harbor Development LP has proposed handing over 100% of its equity interests to lenders owed $290 million or selling itself out of chapter 11 if a suitable buyer emerges, court papers said. The Oaktree-backed company owns a 674-megawatt natural gas-fired plant located along Salem Harbor that has been embroiled in lawsuits and arbitration proceedings since 2018 with its engineering and construction contractor, Iberdrola Energy Projects Inc. Construction delays pushed back the project’s opening by 11 months and caused the plant to terminate its contract with IEP in 2018, according to papers filed late Wednesday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., by chief restructuring officer John Castellano. A different contractor finished the construction. IEP filed an arbitration claim over the termination and last year was awarded more than $236 million, damages that were confirmed by a New York state court in January. Combined with the amounts owed to secured lenders, the IEP award put the plant at “significant risk of an inability to satisfy its debts,” Mr. Castellano said in court papers.