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U.S. oil and gas producer Chesapeake Energy’s chapter 11 reorganization plan was approved by a Bankruptcy Judge David Jones yesterday, giving lenders control of the firm and ending a contentious trial, Reuters reported. Chesapeake will emerge from bankruptcy with about $3 billion in new financing, a $7 billion reduction in debt, and eliminating $1.7 billion in gas processing and pipeline costs, under the plan endorsed by the court. Investors who committed last spring to back the restructuring as energy tumbled stand to benefit enormously. A rebound in oil and gas prices raised Chesapeake’s value to about $5.13 billion, the judge hearing the case said. Once the second-largest U.S. natural gas producer, Chesapeake filed for court protection last June, weighed down by debts from years of overspending on assets and from a sudden decline in energy demand and prices spurred by the coronavirus pandemic.

Tuesday Morning emerged from chapter 11 protection, it announced yesterday, with financial backing from J.P. Morgan, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America, the Dallas Business Journal reported. The Dallas-based off-price home goods retailer filed for bankruptcy in May due to challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic. The ascent from chapter 11 is possible with a $110 million asset-backed lending facility provided by J.P. Morgan, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America, according to a release. “We have emerged with a streamlined operating model, and are well-positioned to execute on our strategy,” said CEO Steve Becker in a prepared statement. The release said that the additional liquidity will support Tuesday Morning’s ongoing operations and strategic initiatives. At the time it filed for bankruptcy, it had 687 stores that it planned to close in phases to help deal with the fallout from the lockdown. It’s emerging with 490 of its best-performing stores.

With mediation efforts ongoing, China Fishery Group (CFG) trustee William Brandt believes that the Peruvian fishmeal and fish oil maker will be able to achieve a "value-maximizing exit" from bankruptcy by the end of 2021, Undercurrent News reported. Brandt, who was appointed in 2016 by a New York judge to oversee CFG amid the $1.5 billion bankruptcy filing of its Hong Kong-based parent company Pacific Andes International Holdings (PAIH), said earlier this month that talks to resolve thorny issue holding up a sale of CFG are showing promise but will require more time to conclude. In the meantime, CFG has used up all but $5.5 million of a $45m loan it took from the company's own resources to pay the administrative costs of the bankruptcy proceeding. Brandt has asked Bankruptcy Judge James Garrity to approve increasing CFG's potential borrowing ceiling to $60 million.

Extraction Oil & Gas has won a judge’s approval to restructure as a standalone company and could emerge from chapter 11 bankruptcy in early 2021, the Denver Business Journal reported. The Denver-based oil producer received confirmation of its reorganization plan from from Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Sontchi on Dec. 23. Extraction Oil & Gas filed for chapter 11 protection June 14 to reorganize and free itself from $1.7 billion in debt it couldn’t pay, either by negotiating a debt-for-equity swap with lenders, or by merging or being acquired by another oil and gas company. It failed to strike a deal with potential acquirers or partners in a merger. Extraction now has a court-approved plan to emerge from bankruptcy court protection as a standalone business.