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Fuse Media, the multi-platform company backed by Jennifer Lopez that targets Latino and multicultural millennials and GenZ audiences, said it will emerge from chapter 11 protection on schedule in the coming weeks, Deadline.com reported. Along with that update on the bankruptcy filing last April, the company said that it has secured a distribution agreement with T-Mobile that will see its Fuse and FM (Fuse Music) linear networks carried on streaming hub TVision Home. The networks had been dropped by Verizon Fios and Comcast on Jan. 1, which led to a missed interest payment of $12.5 million and a host of related struggles. The goal of the pre-packaged bankruptcy was to reduce Fuse’s secured debt by about $200 million as well as lowering related interest expenses. A judge in Delaware bankruptcy court approved the company’s plan, clearing the way for Fuse to exit chapter 11. Despite the corporate and financial drama, Fuse has continued to operate, touting an audience that is 15 years younger than the cable TV average. It linked linear carriage and VOD deals with AT&T and DirecTV.

More than 100 Kirkland & Ellis partners, and about 240 firm lawyers overall, billed time in the Toys “R” Us bankruptcy proceedings, netting the law firm more than $50 million, American Lawyer reported. A judge on Friday approved $56.2 million in fees requested by Kirkland, according to an order filed in the Eastern District of Virginia. Kirkland billed for 57,237.30 hours of work as debtor’s counsel over nearly a year and a half in the toy retailer’s chapter 11 proceedings. Toys “R” Us filed for bankruptcy in September 2017, marking the latest in a string of brick-and-mortar retail failures in the online shopping era. The company retained Kirkland to restructure its nearly $5 billion in debt, as previously reported by The American Lawyer. Kutak Rock, Goodmans and Munger, Tolles & Olson landed roles in the case. In all, 105 partners, 131 associates and two of counsel from Kirkland billed time on the case between the September 2017 bankruptcy filing and Dec. 17 2018. Its partner billing rates for the work ranged from $565.00 to $1,795.00, according to the firm’s final fee application.

Wayne State University School of Medicine's faculty practice, University Physician Group (UPG), has emerged from bankruptcy, Crain's Detroit Business reported. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Detroit on Monday approved University Physician Group's reorganization plan and its exit from bankruptcy protection after the nonprofit medical practice suddenly filed for chapter 11 in November. UPG said in court documents filed in November that it planned to continue operating, move its corporate administrative functions to Midtown Detroit and focus on being the "premier academic clinical practice" for the Detroit Medical Center. The filing was driven by discovery earlier in the year that financial losses of the 20-year-old faculty practice plan were double the $5.5 million expected and that a new, more drastic turnaround plan was required, Crain's reported at the time. Over the past decade, UPG's number of physicians has declined by 50 percent, which has hurt clinical revenue and made its leased network of suburban offices untenable, the filing said. The court-approved reorganization plan created with consulting firm AlixPartners will help determine the future of UPG. It is expected to carry UPG from its 2018 loss of $8.1 million to $3 million in profit by 2022. Wayne State University is financially supporting UPG's efforts to pay back debts and rebuild through a restructuring support agreement.

The parent company of Sears and Kmart stores, controlled by former Sears Holdings Corp. Chief Executive Eddie Lampert, has agreed to buy the rest of Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores Inc.’s shares outstanding that Lampert’s hedge fund doesn’t already own, the Wall Street Journal reported. Transform Holdco LLC is buying the rest of Sears — or 42 percent of the company — for $2.25 a share in cash. The companies said that the deal brings Sears Hometown and Sears and Kmart stores back together after Sears Hometown stores were spun off from Sears Holdings Corp. seven years earlier. Transform’s majority owners are ESL Investments Inc., Lampert’s hedge fund, and its affiliates. A judge earlier this year approved a plan for Sears Holdings Corp., the former owner of Sears and Kmart stores that applied for bankruptcy last year, to sell assets to Lampert’s new company. Lampert was previously CEO of Sears Holdings.

Offshore drilling contractor Seadrill is considering selling non-core assets, including its 15.7 percent stake in oil service firm Archer, to reduce its liabilities, the firm’s outgoing chief financial officer said yesterday, according to Reuters. Seadrill, controlled by Norwegian billionaire John Fredriksen, emerged from chapter 11 protection last year, and is betting on the offshore oil market’s recovery to repay its remaining debts and liabilities. The company repurchased in April $311 million out of $880 million in 12 percent senior secured notes due in 2025, issued as part of the chapter 11 plan.

A bankruptcy court yesterday approved milestone filings from FirstEnergy Solutions Inc., moving the Akron company significantly closer to receiving approval for its chapter 11 reorganization, the Akron (Ohio) Beacon Journal reported. Yesterday’s rulings mean the FirstEnergy Solutions reorganization plan can be put to a vote by the company’s creditors this summer. Then, if creditors approve, the plan goes back to bankruptcy court in August for the judge’s formal ruling, which could lead to the company legally separating from FirstEnergy Corp. and striking out as an independent electric generation business — likely with a new name. Any approved plan will also need regulatory approvals. Bankruptcy Court Judge Alan Koschik approved FirstEnergy Solutions amended disclosure statement. This was the fifth disclosure document filed with the court since FirstEnergy Solutions filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on March 31, 2018. Attorney Brad Kahn, representing FirstEnergy Solutions, told the judge that the latest document resolved objections raised by other parties in the case.