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Mastercard, Visa Agree to Settle Merchant Antitrust Suit

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Mastercard Inc., Visa Inc. and other financial institutions have agreed to settle a long-running antitrust lawsuit with merchants over the fees they pay when they accept card payments for a proposed settlement amount of about $6.2 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported. The proposed amount includes $900 million from all of the defendants, including a number of banks that issue debit and credit cards, including JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc., and Bank of America Corp. It also includes roughly $5.3 billion already paid by the defendants as part of a $7.25 billion settlement reached in 2012. Visa’s share of the new settlement is $600 million, which it said it set aside for the settlement on June 28. Including the 2012 settlement money, Visa’s share is $4.1 billion. Mastercard has agreed to pay an additional $108 million on top of the $790 million it had agreed to pay in a settlement in 2012.

PetSmart Defends Chewy.com Share Transfers

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PetSmart Inc. says it was in full compliance with the financial requirements under its debt agreements when it transferred shares of its online business Chewy.com out of reach of its lenders and secured bondholders, according to a letter sent to a district court judge, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The pet products retailer is a key figure in a lawsuit against the agent for its term loan lenders over transfers in June of 36 percent of the company’s shares in Chewy.com to entities that are out of the reach of the holders of PetSmart’s term loans. In June the company transferred a 20 percent stake in Chewy.com to its parent Argos Holdings Inc., an entity that is under direct control of private-equity owner BC Partners, and another 16.5 percent stake to a PetSmart subsidiary called Buddy Holdings Corp. PetSmart subsequently sued Citibank NA, the agent on its term loans, for refusing to bless the transactions.

Saddled With $42 Million in Debt, Seasons Kosher Supermarket Files for Bankruptcy

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A chain of kosher grocery stores, Seasons, with locations on the Upper West Side and Queens, has filed for bankruptcy with $42 million in debt, the Commercial Observer reported. The company only has $5 million in assets but owes millions to vendors, landlords and banks, according to the chapter 11 filing obtained via Nationwide Research Company. Its locations include 661 Amsterdam Avenue between West 92nd and West 93rd Streets and 68-18 Main Street in Flushing, Queens as well as six spread across New York State, New Jersey and Maryland. It’s unclear if Seasons will close any stores or is looking for a buyer, but there have been reports of empty shelves at its outposts.

Claire’s Reaches Settlement with Oaktree

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Claire’s Stores Inc. reached a settlement yesterday with unhappy junior bondholder Oaktree Capital Management LP, just as a confirmation hearing on the retailer’s bankruptcy plan was about to get under way, freeing senior creditors to eventually take control of the business, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The group of junior creditors that includes Oaktree will now recover at least 18 percent of what they are owed and possibly up to 25 percent, depending on the company’s operating results, according to terms announced yesterday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del. Originally, the group was supposed to get about 1 percent, a number later increased to almost 15 percent. The settlement means that the retailer won’t have a contested bankruptcy hearing, which had been expected to last more than three days. The parties are putting finishing touches on the settlement and are scheduled to appear again in court today to seek approval of the new plan. Oaktree will now vote yes on Claire’s reorganization plan.

Swedish Coffee Chain Fika Files for Bankruptcy

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Fika, the swanky Swedish coffee shop, filed for chapter 11 protection on Friday, the New York Post reported. There are now just seven locations in Manhattan — down from 14 last March. At its peak, the chain had operated as many as 20 New York stores since it first set up shop in the Big Apple in 2006. The coffee chain, which in addition to coffee sold homemade chocolate, bakery items and sandwiches, had between $10 million and $50 million in debts and up to $1 million in assets, according to its bankruptcy filing in the Southern District of New York. Among its creditors are about eight real estate firms that are owed substantial amounts of back rent, including Related Companies, which is owed $276,957 for a location at 157 Seventh Ave., according to the filing.

Sears Reports Widening Losses and Tumbling Sales

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Sears Holdings Corp. is limping into the critical holiday season, after the struggling company reported its quarterly sales fell 26 percent and it continues to close dozens of stores, the Wall Street Journal reported. Total revenue plunged by more than $1 billion to $3.18 billion for the three months ending Aug. 4, compared with a year earlier. Sales excluding newly opened or closed stores fell 4 percent at Sears and 3.7 percent at Kmart locations. The quarterly decline at existing stores wasn’t as sharp as it has been in recent quarters. In fact, executives said that same-store sales turned positive in July and August. Overall, the company hasn’t posted a quarterly gain since 2011. The company lost $508 million for the period, compared with a $250 million loss a year ago. Sears has closed 384 stores since last year and is struggling to attract shoppers to its remaining Sears and Kmart locations. The company had 866 stores as of Aug. 4.

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Jenny Craig Weighs Sale as Performance Improves

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Weight-loss brand Jenny Craig is seeking a buyer as its turnaround efforts start coming to fruition, the Wall Street Journal reported. The private equity-backed weight-management company hired investment bank Rothschild & Co. to explore strategic alternatives including a potential sale. Jenny Craig is projected to generate roughly $400 million of revenue and $35 million of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in 2018. The weight-management company revived its sales growth under its current backer, North Castle Partners, after the firm acquired the 35-year-old company from Nestlé SA in 2013. The consumer-focused private-equity firm brought in industry veteran Monty Sharma as the company’s new chief executive. Sharma has a track record of rebuilding consumer brands, including Naked Juice Co. and Atkins Nutritionals Inc. Five years later, North Castle is hoping that Jenny Craig’s improved performance will translate into a healthy exit of its investment.

Mike Isabella Restaurant Group Wins Approval to Pay Employees

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Celebrity chef Mike Isabella’s bankrupt restaurant group won court approval yesterday to pay employees while it reorganizes under chapter 11 protection, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Isabella put six of his Washington, D.C.-area restaurants under bankruptcy protection last week after negative publicity stemming from a sexual-harassment lawsuit caused revenue to drop over the course of a few months, according to bankruptcy-court papers. Four other restaurants have been permanently closed. Bankruptcy Judge Lori Simpson gave the company the green light to pay its employees, as well as pay its bills and keep its gift-card program going for the restaurants still in business. The bankruptcy filing includes six operating restaurants and a management company, which together employ 268 people. There are another 81 workers at two other restaurants who aren’t part of the bankruptcy filing, court papers show, so those workers’ wages weren’t subject to court approval yesterday.