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A subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp. that operates coal and nuclear plants in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia plans to emerge from bankruptcy protection by the end of the year after getting final approval from a federal judge, the Associated Press reported. But FirstEnergy Solutions also warned last week that it will take steps to close its nuclear plants in Ohio if a proposal to overturn a roughly $1 billion financial rescue for the two plants is allowed on the statewide ballot in 2020. Ohio-based FirstEnergy Solutions, which has said that its coal and nuclear plants are struggling to compete against cheaper energy sources such as natural gas and renewables, filed for bankruptcy last year and intends to separate from Akron-based FirstEnergy Corp. A federal bankruptcy judge in Akron signed off on the company's reorganization plan on Wednesday after it finalized two union labor agreements. FirstEnergy Solutions has sought financial help from both the federal government and officials in states where the company operates. It persuaded Ohio lawmakers this year to tack a surcharge onto every electricity bill in the state and give its two nuclear plants near Toledo and Cleveland $150 million a year through 2026.

Pioneering Spanish-language broadcaster LBI Media Inc. said Wednesday it is exiting bankruptcy under a chapter 11 reorganization plan that was confirmed by a bankruptcy judge in April, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. An operator of a string of television and radio stations and other media properties, LBI filed for chapter 11 protection in November 2018 with debt of more than $500 million. The company blamed challenging market conditions for its financial struggles. LBI said in a news release on Tuesday that bankruptcy had wiped more than $350 million in debt from its balance sheet. Even though it had the green light from the bankruptcy court, LBI had to wait for months to line up regulatory approvals before implementing the chapter 11 plan, court papers said.

Halcon Resources Corp. has emerged from bankruptcy, eliminating more than $750 million of debt and over $40 million in annual interest expenses to give it a better financial foothold, naturalgasintel.com reported. With its exit from chapter 11, the Houston-based independent energy producer said that it has $147 million available under its new senior secured revolving credit facility, including $3 million in cash, $1 million in letters of credit and $130 million of borrowing. The company also has more than 16 million shares of common stock outstanding. Halcon, which also filed for chapter 11 in 2016, sought restructuring in August after exploring its strategic options earlier this year. The company’s review began after long-time CEO Floyd Wilson and other executives left the company. With restructuring complete, the company has appointed Daniel P. Rohling as COO and executive vice president, replacing Jon Wright. Rohling most recently was asset vice president at Ajax Resources LLC until it sold most of its assets in 2018 to Diamondback Energy Inc.

Bristow Group Inc. was cleared to leave bankruptcy under a reorganization that hands ownership of the helicopter transportation services business mostly to creditors, with Solus Alternative Asset Management LP and South Dakota Investment Council playing key roles in the company’s future, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Houston-based company filed for bankruptcy in May with liabilities of more than $1.7 billion and will leave chapter 11 with about $900 million less debt. On Friday, Bankruptcy Judge David Jones overruled objections from a committee of shareholders and said that he would approve the restructuring plan after two days discussing various estimates of how much Bristow was worth. Bristow headed into its confirmation hearing with virtually all of its secured lenders and bondholders, 73 percent of its unsecured bondholders, the unsecured creditors committee, and many critical equipment and other suppliers backing its plan. But existing shareholders believed their stakes still had value. They said in court that they believed Bristow was being stripped from them and put into the hands of new owners when business conditions for the company will inevitably rebound.