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Party City Holdco Inc. on Wednesday received court approval to exit bankruptcy and emerge with a leaner balance sheet, avoiding the fate of retail peers who stumbled in chapter 11 and ceased operations, Bloomberg News reported. The New Jersey-based retailer is set to hand ownership of the company to lenders and reduce its debt load by some $1 billion, according to court papers. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David R. Jones on Wednesday said he would approve the company’s restructuring plan. “This plan sets the company up for success going forward,” Ken Ziman, an attorney for the company, said during the hearing. “And most important, your honor, this is a plan that preserves thousands of jobs.” Other major retailers have not been so fortunate. Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. liquidated after failing to find a way to keep operating after chapter 11. The story is similar for home goods retailer Christmas Tree Shops LLC, while Jenny Craig Inc. opted to go straight into a liquidation after failing to find a rescuer. As part of the chapter 11 process, the company shuttered more than 60 stores across the country, but was able to keep the vast majority of its more than 700 stores open, according to court papers. “It wasn’t a wholesale exiting of lease locations,” said Ziman.

Starry Group Holdings Inc., the Boston-based wireless broadband provider, is emerging from bankruptcy with a new leader who has a more sober view on growth and a rediscovered bias toward reaching profitability, Bloomberg News reported. The company filed for chapter 11 protection in February and has restructured as a closely held venture, according to a statement Thursday. The board will include co-founders Alex Moulle-Berteaux and Chet Kanojia. Ditching earlier hyper-growth aspirations that ran aground when the capital markets dried up, Starry Chief Executive Officer Moulle-Berteaux said he has a fully funded moderate-growth business plan that will get the company to break-even in two years or less. Moulle-Berteaux, a Starry co-founder, was previously the company’s chief operating officer. Wireless broadband connections start at $50 a month at Starry, which is cheaper than cable and landline internet services. The company sells service in Boston, Los Angeles, New York City, Denver and Washington. Currently it has fewer than 100,000 broadband subscribers, Moulle-Berteaux said. Starry’s second act comes at a highly competitive time in the broadband industry. All three of the major U.S. mobile service providers have been using new super fast 5G networks to beam signals into homes to provide internet access. The lower cost wireless broadband offerings, where Starry will be competing, have been popular with customers looking for cheaper alternatives to landline internet offerings and have undercut subscriber growth at the cable companies including Comcast Corp. and Charter Communications Inc.

Crypto lender Celsius Network on Monday received a U.S. bankruptcy judge's permission to seek creditor approval for its bankruptcy plan, advancing a proposal to exit chapter 11 as a new entity owned by its creditors, Reuters reported. Judge Martin Glenn signed off on Celsius's disclosure statement and solicitation materials at a U.S. Bankruptcy Court hearing in Manhattan, saying Celsius had given creditors sufficient information to vote on the proposed restructuring. Some creditors oppose the plan, but the official committee appointed to represent junior creditors supports it and will recommend that Celsius customers vote in favor. New Jersey-based Celsius filed for chapter 11 protection in July 2022, one of several crypto lenders to go bankrupt following the rapid growth of the industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. Celsius had 600,000 customers who held about $4.4 billion in interest-bearing Celsius accounts when it filed for bankruptcy, according to court documents.