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CHC Group Ltd. filed for chapter 11 protection as one of the world’s largest helicopter operators joined a slew of oil-field services companies caught by the downturn in global energy prices, the Wall Street Journal reported today. The filing came just days after a fatal crash of one of its helicopters in Norway forced the company to ground much of its fleet. CHC is one of two global companies alongside Houston-based Bristow Group Inc. that dominate the business of ferrying workers and cargo offshore for energy companies and have been forced to shrink and cut costs. CHC operated a fleet of 231 helicopters on Jan. 31 and had been exploring a debt-restructuring for several months even before the April 29 crash of an Airbus Group SE EC225 helicopter. The accident killed its two pilots and 11 oil workers flying back to the Norwegian mainland, and led regulators in the U.K. and Norway to ground the EC225, a workhorse helicopter with a history of technical problems. CHC leased 157 helicopters and operated 42 EC225s, and had orders with manufacturers including Airbus, the Sikorsky unit of Lockheed Martin Corp. and Leonardo SpA’s AgustaWestland.

A Massachusetts shoe designer for fashion labels like Ellen Tracy, French Connection, Elie Tahari and other department-store brands has filed for bankruptcy, saying it can’t afford the growing royalty payments owed to brand owners, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Lawyers who put Modern Shoe Co. and an affiliate into bankruptcy protection on Monday said that the companies face roughly $28.2 million in debt, mostly to Chinese manufacturers who fill shoe orders for Saks Fifth Avenue, Macy’s Inc., Bloomingdales, Lord & Taylor and other retailers. Modern Shoe officials told Judge Melvin S. Hoffman that they plan to stop selling Ellen Tracy shoes and proposed using bankruptcy’s contract-cutting power to terminate its licensing agreement with the brand’s owner, Brand Matter LLC. The licensing deal, first made in 2006, doesn’t end until 2021. Modern Shoe’s sales of Ellen Tracy shoes made up $15 million of its $90 million in 2013 revenue, but sales have fallen since Macy’s and Lord & Taylor stores decided to stop selling Ellen Tracy-branded apparel, said Modern Shoe President Kimberly Bradley in documents filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Boston.

Struggling teen apparel retailer Aeropostale Inc. filed for chapter 11 protection today after succumbing to years of losses as shoppers moved on to fast-fashion retailers and online competitors, Reuters reported. Aeropostale said that it plans to finance its operations during its bankruptcy through a $160 million loan from Crystal Financial LLC combined with operating cash flow, according to a court filing. The company said it expects to emerge out of bankruptcy within six months with a resolution of its disputes with former shareholder Sycamore Partners, which had thrown a lifeline of $150 million to the retailer in 2014. The mall-based retailer said that it would close 113 U.S. stores and all 41 stores in Canada. The company listed assets in the range of $100 million to $500 million, and liabilities of $100 million to $500 million.

Grocery chain operator Fairway Group Holdings Corp, which has lost money in every quarter since it went public in 2013, filed for chapter 11 protection, Reuters reported yesterday. Fairway listed assets in the range of $100 million to $500 million, and liabilities of $100 million to $500 million, according to a court filing. The company filed a pre-packaged chapter 11 plan to restructure its debt and is seeking approval for $55 million in debtor in possession credit. Fairway, which operates about 15 stores in the New York City area, said that it aimed to reduce debt by about $140 million through the restructuring and retain jobs.

A trucking company that works at California’s teeming ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach has filed for bankruptcy protection, facing a demand to pay nearly $7 million to its truck drivers over a labor dispute, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Pacific 9 Transportation’s bankruptcy filing on Tuesday halts collection attempts from drivers who have fought for back pay, arguing the Carson, Calif., company improperly classified them as independent contractors instead of employees. Last month, a judge finalized the payment award amounts, which vary for each driver. Pacific 9 Transportation’s bankruptcy-court records show one driver in Inglewood, Calif., is owed $186,304.26, while another from Rialto, Calif., could collect $336,999.11. The 75-worker company will continue to operate during the case, which will give the company time to figure out a debt repayment plan, said Pacific 9 Transportation lawyer Vanessa Haberbush.

Pacific Exploration & Production Corp said an Ontario court approved a $500 million debtor-in-possession financing facility for the Canadian company and its units, hours after it filed for creditor protection, Reuters reported yesterday. The Ontario Superior Court of Justice also approved a $134 million letter-of-credit facility and second-priority lien over assets under the facility, Pacific Exploration said. The company said earlier in the day that it had filed for protection from creditors under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act, an insolvency law in Canada that allows companies to restructure their finances and stay in business. Pacific Exploration said it also plans to file for protection under chapter 15 in the U.S. Pacific Exploration reached a deal last week with creditors, including Catalyst Capital Group Inc., to convert almost all of its debt to equity after it missed an interest payment due in March. Read more. 

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SunEdison Inc., once the fastest-growing U.S. renewable energy company, filed for chapter 11  protection yesterday after a short-lived but aggressive binge of debt-fueled acquisitions proved unsustainable, Reuters reported yesterday. In its bankruptcy filing, the company said that it had assets of $20.7 billion and liabilities of $16.1 billion as of Sept. 30. SunEdison's two publicly traded subsidiaries, TerraForm Power Inc. and TerraForm Global Inc., are not part of the bankruptcy. In a statement, the companies, known as yieldcos, said that they had sufficient liquidity to operate and that their assets are not available to satisfy the claims of SunEdison creditors. The bankruptcy "will present challenges," however, including with financing agreements for certain projects, the yieldcos said. The chapter 11 filing caps SunEdison Chief Executive Officer Ahmad Chatila's seven-year quest to transform a struggling maker of silicon wafers into a renewable energy giant able to capitalize on burgeoning demand for solar and wind energy amid growing concerns about climate change. Chatila was named CEO of what was then called MEMC Electronic Materials in 2009 and almost immediately bought fledgling solar project developer SunEdison. The company changed its name four years later and embarked on a rapid expansion that included entering new businesses like wind and energy storage and taking on projects worldwide. That growth racked up billions of dollars of debt. Solar industry watchers said the bankruptcy was not a reflection of the overall financial health of the sector, which is growing rapidly.

Tulsa-based Sheehan Pipe Line Construction Co. filed for chapter 11 protection on Friday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma, the Tulsa World reported yesterday. Founded in 1903, the 113-year-old pipeline construction company's functions have expanded to include hydrostatic testing, valve changing and pipeline rehabilitation, but the company's focus is still primarily on laying infrastructure. The company's chapter 11 filing lists both estimated assets and liabilities as being somewhere in the $50 to $100 million range. The company's estimated number of creditors are listed as in the range of 200 to 999.

Vestis Retail Group LLC, the operator of Eastern Mountain Sports, filed for bankruptcy protection after failing to adjust to changes in U.S. shopping habits, especially among young people, Bloomberg News reported today. Vestis, which also runs the Sport Chalet and Bob’s Stores chains, is owned by Philadelphia-based private equity firm Versa Capital Management. The chapter 11 petition filed today in Wilmington, Del., listed as much as $500 million in liabilities and less than $50,000 of assets.  The company said that Vestis BSI Funding II LLC, funds advised by Versa, has agreed to purchase substantially all of its remaining assets. Vestis will seek approval of a court-supervised auction process with the Vestis BSI offer as the opening bid, according to court papers. Vestis will seek approval of up to $125 million in debtor-in-possession financing from its pre-petition lender Wells Fargo Capital Finance LLC to help fund operations while the company restructures. 

Goodrich Petroleum Corp. has filed for chapter 11 in a U.S. bankruptcy court to implement financial restructuring, Bloomberg News reported today. “Through the chapter 11 restructuring, the company will eliminate approximately $400 million in debt from its balance sheet, substantially de-leverage its capital structure and strategically position the company for long-term performance in an anticipated improving commodity price environment,” Houston-based Goodrich said. Goodrich earlier this month reached an agreement with creditors to use its "best efforts" to file for chapter 11 with a pre-packaged plan to reorganize and emerge from court as an operating business. That agreement came after the company’s debt-for-equity exchange offer failed to gain enough traction among debt holders. On March 16, Goodrich delayed releasing its annual report, citing a large loss that auditors have determined may affect the company’s ability to operate as a going concern. The loss comes "mainly as a result of substantial impaired asset writedowns," Goodrich said in the filing. Read more. 

Has the final shoe dropped for the E&P industry? A session this afternoon at ABI's 34th Annual Spring Meeting features experts discussing energy industry distress. 

Get a better understanding of what happens when an oil, gas or other natural resources company goes bankrupt. Pre-order your copy of ABI's revised and expanded When Gushers Go Dry: The Essentials of Oil & Gas Bankruptcy, Second Edition. Print copies are available at the onsite bookstore at the Annual Spring Meeting.