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Applebee’s Restaurants LLC is objecting to a franchisee’s plan to leave chapter 11, saying it isn’t clear that a $10 million offer by the franchisee’s private-equity owner to take it out of bankruptcy reflects its market value, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. RMH Franchise Holdings Inc., the second-biggest franchisee of Applebee’s restaurants, sought protection from creditors in May. Applebee’s, owned by Dine Brands Global Inc., is an unsecured creditor in the proceedings and is owed more than $14 million in past-due royalties and advertising fees, a court filing has shown. Applebee’s last week objected to RMH’s disclosure statement, a document describing its proposed reorganization plan. The filing must be approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., before creditors are allowed to vote on the reorganization plan.

Two bidders have joined forces to present a lead offer for Seasons Kosher Supermarkets, the country’s largest kosher grocery chain, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. During a hearing Friday at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Brooklyn, N.Y., lawyers for Seasons said the new offer from SKNY LLC, an existing lender, and DC Brothers II LLC would replace an earlier offer from SKNY alone. Court papers show SKNY first lent Seasons $1 million in early 2016 and has continued to make loans to help the company make payroll and pay insurance premiums. DC Brothers II is a third party that had initially competed with SKNY to become the lead, or stalking horse, bidder. The new bid, made in exchange for all the Season’s assets, is for $13.25 million, an increase over the previous $12 million offer from SKNY. A so-called breakup fee included as a provision in the new offer was also reduced to 2 percent from 3 percent, a benefit to Seasons.

The new owners of the Toys “R” Us brand are hoping the toy seller’s spin through bankruptcy will allow the tarnished-but-beloved brand to succeed in a depressed retail environment, and reap long-term return, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The new owners—the same group of hedge funds that pulled the plug on Toys “R” Us’s reorganization this year—are slated to become the owners of everything from the Toys “R” Us and Babies “R” Us names to the rights of company mascot Geoffrey the Giraffe and other licensed brands such as Imaginarium. The new ownership group, lenders who own a big chunk of Toys secured debt, is made up of about 10 hedge funds, most prominently among them Solus Alternative Asset Management, Angelo Gordon and Franklin Mutual Advisers. Snow Park Capital Partners is a holder of a smaller position, court papers show. The hedge funds are betting that Toys “R” Us will have a future that is brighter than the market expects. Instead of unloading the brand at a bargain price in a down market, the owners are hoping to reboot Toys “R” Us stores with the hope of ultimately reaping a higher recovery somewhere down the line.

Neiman Marcus Group Ltd, the luxury retailer facing a $2.8 billion loan coming due in two years, has started talking to groups of creditors about reworking its borrowings to give it more breathing room, Bloomberg News reported. Advisers for groups of bondholders and lenders are talking to the company about options that include giving the retailer more time to pay back its loan. In exchange, they would change Neiman Marcus’s credit agreement to give creditors more power if the company’s fortunes deteriorate too much. They’re also discussing a possible bond exchange. The latest discussions heated up soon after Neiman Marcus irked creditors by moving its MyTheresa online retail business -- one of its most promising assets with an estimated value of $500 million -- into an entity that’s outside investors’ reach. One investor said that the move may have violated the terms of the company’s debt, amounting to a default. A spokesman for Neiman Marcus said that the shift was allowed under credit documents, and the company isn’t in default.

The brand name of specialty retailer Brookstone Inc. will be sold to Bluestar Alliance LLC, the licensing brand firm that has been eager to acquire bankrupt stores’ intellectual property, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The sale is the result of a lengthy auction that spanned from Wednesday through Sunday, according to court papers filed Sunday. Bluestar, in a joint bid with technology company Apex Digital Inc., walked away the winning bidder. The sale is subject to court approval. Bluestar has been looking to buy the Brookstone brand since late August, shortly after the retailer had received an offer from Authentic Brands Group LLC, a rival brand-licensing firm. Bluestar not only upended Authentic Brands’ bid, it increased its own three times, eventually heading to the auction with a court-approved $56.35 million opening offer, or so-called stalking-horse bid. The retailer — which sells everything from toys and games to sleep and wellness products — said it values the winning firms’ bid at between about $66 million and $74 million, which includes cash and the assumption of liabilities.

The same Toys “R” Us Inc. lenders that have been taking heat for their role in the decision to liquidate the company in March are now working on bringing the brand back to life, according to new court documents, Bloomberg News reported. In a bankruptcy court filing yesterday, the funds that now control Toys “R” Us said that they’d canceled a plan to auction off the company’s intellectual property. Instead they are seeking to reorganize the assets into a new company that will maintain the current license agreements and invest in new retail operating businesses. Maintaining the brands under a new independent U.S. business was the best option with respect to the recovery of the Toys “R” Us estate, as well as the benefit of other indirect and direct stakeholders, according to the filing. “The qualified bids were not reasonably likely to yield a superior alternative.” The court authorized the cancellation of the auction.

One of the largest shareholders of the El Torito and Chevys Fresh Mex restaurant chains is preparing to take full ownership after a bankruptcy judge approved its $46.8 million purchase offer last week, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Bankruptcy Judge Mary Walrath of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., on Friday cleared investment firm Z Capital Group LLC to buy the restaurants out of bankruptcy protection. RM Holdco LLC, the bankrupt owner of the two chains and several smaller brands, filed for bankruptcy on Aug. 5 amid a search for buyers. The Cypress, Calif., company’s combined brands make it one of country’s largest Mexican casual-dining operators: It has roughly 80 restaurants, mostly in its home state. No other bidders emerged during the bankruptcy case to challenge the offer from Z Capital Group, according to court papers.