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Forever 21 Inc.’s effort to finance its exit from bankruptcy is hitting resistance from some prospective investors over lagging sales at its remaining stores and who will control the fashion chain, Bloomberg News reported. Revenue is below expectations, which has made some would-be lenders hesitate, according to people with knowledge of the talks. Inventory bottlenecks also threaten to curtail sales during the crucial holiday season. The process of shopping for an exit loan is still in early stages, however, and has yielded some initial interest from potential lenders, according to a few sources. Some owners of the malls that host Forever 21 have floated the idea of converting some of the rent obligations into an ownership stake. They’ve already granted rent concessions significant enough to let Forever 21 keep open dozens of stores it had slated to close. Concerns about leadership and ownership also have resurfaced in early conversations about financing the business. Bloomberg reported previously that talks with landlords before its bankruptcy broke down amid disagreements over the founding Chang family’s desire to keep control.

Solus Alternative Asset Management, a New York hedge fund best known for its role in the bankruptcy of Toys “R” Us, is under pressure from investors unhappy with its performance, the Wall Street Journal reported. In a sign of discontent, some investors have asked to retrieve their money before the end of their agreed-upon terms as Solus appears on track to deliver its second consecutive year of losses. So far, clients have asked to pull at least $100 million, sources said, a relatively small amount of money for the firm, which manages about $4 billion. However, the clients’ requests add strain to Solus’ assets, which have shrunk by about one-third since last year. Solus was a lender to Toys “R” Us ahead of its bankruptcy filing. Under the company’s complex capital structure, the hedge fund and four other debtholders essentially had the power to stop the clock on its reorganization under chapter 11. Toys “R” Us decided its only option was to liquidate, the Journal reported. Solus has said that it wasn’t responsible for the iconic toy store’s demise. Assets at Solus have dropped steeply, by $1.7 billion, from about $6 billion last year.

H/2 Capital Partners is seeking to sell almost $800 million of a $1.7 billion loan made to J.C. Penney Co., Bloomberg News reported. The potential transaction was large enough to spook bondholders and traders in the market for credit-default swaps tied to the retailer. Deutsche Bank AG is shopping the J.C. Penney’s first-lien term loan due in 2023 on behalf of the hedge fund. The debt, which will be sold at auction, is being marketed at a potential price of around 87 cents on the dollar, a slight discount from current trading levels of around 89 cents. The retailer’s first-lien bonds due 2023 slipped over 4 cents on the dollar on Thursday to as low as 81.5 cents before recovering to 84.25 cents on Friday, according to Trace bond trading data. The cost of protecting J.C. Penney debt in the credit-default swaps market for one year rose as much as 7 percentage points upfront intraday to 23.5 points on Thursday, before falling back to 17.7 points on Friday. Plano, Texas-based J.C. Penney has been focusing on managing its debt load as it seeks to turn around its operations.

The value of Hudson’s Bay Co.’s Saks Fifth Avenue flagship store has plummeted over the last five years, pulled down by retail woes and sliding rents in a high-profile Manhattan shopping district, Bloomberg News reported. The building at 611 Fifth Ave. was recently appraised at $1.6 billion, according to a filing by the Toronto-based company, dropping almost 60 percent from about $3.7 billion five years ago. The reasons for the decline include “the performance of the store relative to expectations in 2014, changes in market rents on New York’s Fifth Avenue, and the changes in the retail landscape,” the company said. Last month, Hudson’s Bay agreed to go private at a valuation of $1.45 billion in a deal that was put together by Chairman Richard Baker, who wants to reinvigorate the struggling retailer. But the proposal requires the approval of shareholders, and there’s been debate among investors about the value of the company’s real estate. Activist investor Jonathan Litt has argued that the company is undervaluing its “exceptional assets” and last year he said that the Saks Fifth Avenue building should be sold.

Charming Charlie, a women’s fast-fashion retailer that went out of business earlier this year, plans to open 15 stores early next year, the Houston Chronicle reported. The new stores come five months after the retailer filed for its second bankruptcy in less than two years and liquidated its 261 stores nationwide. Charming Charlie founder Charlie Chanaratsopon, who acquired the company’s trademarks out of bankruptcy auction in September, said at the time that he planned to resurrect the business as an online-heavy retailer with a handful of stores and “pop-up” shops in select locations nationwide. The new stores would be between 3,000 and 4,000 square feet, about half the size of its predecessors, he said in September. Charming Charlie reported $248 million in sales over 12 months trailing June, its last report before filing for bankruptcy. The company had outstanding debt of about $81.8 million and cash on hand of about $6,000, according to court documents. Instead of reorganizing under chapter 11, the company decided to liquidate its 261 stores nationwide. Some 3,342 full- and part-time employees were affected. Charming Charlie reported $248 million in sales over 12 months trailing June, its last report before filing for bankruptcy. The company had outstanding debt of about $81.8 million and cash on hand of about $6,000, according to court documents. Instead of reorganizing under chapter 11, the company decided to liquidate its 261 stores nationwide. Some 3,342 full- and part-time employees were affected.

Chicago-based Pork & Mindy’s filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy on Nov. 5, Crain's Chicago Business reported. Led by Chicago native Jeff Mauro, who called himself the "sandwich king," the company filed in the U.S. bankruptcy court for the Northern District of Illinois and listed liabilities between $1 to $10 million with an estimated 50 to 99 creditors. The creative BBQ concept debuted in Bucktown in January 2016 and Mauro operated two additional restaurants in Wrigley Field and the Loop. Earlier this year, Mauro signed a deal with area grocery chain Mariano’s to open in 20 stores by the end of 2019. A few were up and running before the bankruptcy filing. Mariano's confirmed the Pork & Mindy's closures in its stores.

A $285 million loan taken out by the Kushner Cos. will require a renegotiation of terms after the firm’s tenants broke their leases, the real estate company said on Friday, Bloomberg News reported. The loan was issued by Deutsche Bank AG in 2016 to allow the firm to refinance six floors of retail space in the former New York Times building. Rent income at the property is falling short of interest payments, according to an analyst note this week on behalf of Wells Fargo & Co., which is managing the loan. The loan was being transferred to a so-called special servicer, which typically oversees such deal talks, according to the note. The loan isn’t in default and hasn’t yet moved to special servicing, Wells Fargo said in a statement. Months of troubles at the building have taken their toll. Kushner has engaged in legal battles with tenants and also issued significant rent reductions. Last month, one of the largest tenants filed for bankruptcy. Kushner Cos., the family company of presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner, purchased the space at 229 West 43rd Street for $296 million in 2015. A year later, after signing up new tenants, the company received a $470 million appraisal for it, which underpinned a $370 million loan package that also allowed the family company to take out $59 million in cash. The annual interest payments left the company little room to absorb tenant exits or rent reductions.

Sears is laying off hundreds of corporate workers less than a week after announcing a new round of store closures, Business Insider reported. The layoffs impacted workers at Sears' headquarters in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, as well as the company's offices in San Francisco. The total number of laid-off employees is fewer than 300. Sears' parent company, Transformco, which also owns Kmart stores, confirmed the layoffs. "Since purchasing substantially all the assets of Sears Holdings Corp. in February 2019, Transformco has faced a difficult retail environment," the statement said. The company last laid off corporate employees in September. That round of layoffs impacted about 250 people.

The private-equity backed operator of the Houlihan’s Restaurant + Bar chain has filed for bankruptcy protection with a deal in-hand to sell the casual dining chain to fellow restaurant operator Landry’s Inc. for $40 million and assumption of some liabilities, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Houlihan’s Restaurant Inc. and its affiliates blamed yesterday’s chapter 11 filing on a confluence of factors that have stressed the casual dining sector in recent years including expensive leases, a tight labor market and “the rapid growth in costly third-party delivery.” The bankruptcy comes little more than a year after the business acquired more than a dozen Houlihan’s locations from its largest franchisee. Private-equity firm York Capital Management and Mike Archer, a former president of Applebees and TGI Friday’s, acquired Houlihan’s in 2015. Houlihan’s has almost $80 million in assets and $76.9 million of liabilities, consisting mostly of debt, according to court papers filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del. Landry’s owns Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., Morton’s The Steakhouse, Joe’s Crab Shack and numerous other casual dining chain. In August, Landry’s made an offer in bankruptcy to acquire the assets of Restaurants Unlimited Inc. Landry’s is owned by billionaire Tilman Fertitta, who also owns the National Basketball Association’s Houston Rockets. The bankruptcy and the sale process aren’t expected to interrupt business at Houlihan’s or its other branded restaurants.