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After months of disputes, Quiksilver Inc. is close to reaching a deal on how much its junior creditors will be paid in the company’s bankruptcy settlement, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. The bankrupt surfwear retailer’s senior creditor, Oaktree Capital Management LP, has agreed to pay $14 million in cash as well as a small percentage of the equity in the reorganized entity. A committee representing lower-ranking creditors said that they deserved $91 million based on Quiksilver’s value, according to court papers filed Jan. 21. The group argued in the filing that the retailer’s assets are worth about $690 million, while the company said that they’re worth about $546 million. The deal is designed to enable the company to emerge from bankruptcy under its expected time frame. The hearing to confirm Quiksilver’s restructuring is scheduled for today.

Bankruptcy Judge Brendan Shannon yesterday said that he would approve American Apparel Inc.’s plan to exit bankruptcy and rejected a takeover attempt from the teen retailer's founder and ousted chief executive, Dov Charney, Reuters reported yesterday. The ruling by Judge Shannon clears the way for hedge funds including Monarch Alternative Capital to control the operator of more than 200 stores when it exits chapter 11. Los Angeles-based American Apparel Inc., known for its "Made in the U.S.A." fashion and sexually charged advertising, filed for bankruptcy in October, blaming changing tastes and too much debt. The reorganization plan that Judge Shannon approved would cut more than $200 million of debt and provide a cash boost. Under that plan, the company expects to be profitable in 2018, which would be the first time since 2009.

Albertsons Cos. has settled legal quarrels with West Coast grocer Haggen Holdings LLC, which filed for bankruptcy less than a year after buying 146 stores from Albertsons, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Described in a filing Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the settlement is worth up to $14 million for Haggen’s unsecured creditors, including $5.8 million in cash contributed by Albertsons. The settlement allows Albertsons and Haggen to walk away from civil disputes stemming from a deal blessed by the Federal Trade Commission. The settlement is subject to court approval. Albertsons sold the big string of stores to Haggen in January 2015 to get antitrust clearance to buy Safeway Inc.

A U.S. judge will decide on Monday whether teen retailer American Apparel can exit bankruptcy under the control of hedge funds or if he will allow a takeover bid by investors working with its controversial former chief executive, Dov Charney, Reuters reported yesterday. Los Angeles-based American Apparel Inc., known for its "Made in the U.S.A." fashion and sexually charged advertising, wants approval for a bankruptcy-ending deal that would cede control to hedge fund bondholders, including Monarch Alternative Capital. Charney has challenged that deal, and wants Bankruptcy Judge <b>Brendan Shannon</b> to reject the company plan and allow his partners to pursue their $300 million takeover. That bid is backed by two investment funds, Hagan Capital Group and Silver Creek Capital Partners, but was recently rejected by the company's board.

Sports Authority Inc. is struggling to persuade creditors to reduce its outstanding debt as it tries to stave off a bankruptcy filing, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. The sporting-goods retailer, which skipped an interest payment last week on its $343 million of subordinated debt maturing in 2018, has been talking to the bondholders about taking a loss on the notes in exchange for other securities. The company, which has at least $643 million in debt, may seek chapter 11 protection if it fails to agree on a deal with the bondholders. Sports Authority entered a 30-day grace period last Friday, according to Moody’s Investors Service. After that, a default is triggered if the interest payment is still not covered.

American Apparel's chief executive told a bankruptcy judge yesterday the retailer could become embroiled in drawn-out litigation if it accepted a takeover bid being championed by its founder and former CEO Dov Charney, Reuters reported yesterday. Los Angeles-based American Apparel Inc., known for its "Made in the U.S.A.” fashion and sexually charged advertising, joined other teen-focused retailers by filing for bankruptcy in October due to changing shopping habits. The company is seeking court approval of a bankruptcy exit plan backed by a group of hedge funds. Charney has objected and is trying to convince the judge to allow a takeover backed by competing investment funds, Hagan Capital Group and Silver Creek Capital Partners, is a better deal. Last week, the company's board rejected the $300 million takeover bid involving Charney. Bankruptcy Judge Brendan Shannon must decide if the hedge fund-backed plan, which has the support of a committee of the company's creditors, is fair and feasible.

American Apparel's former chief executive officer Dov Charney will take the stand in Bankruptcy Court today in a last-ditch effort to wrest control of the ailing teen retailer from a group of hedge funds, Reuters reported yesterday. Los Angeles-based American Apparel Inc, known for its "Made in the U.S.A." fashion, filed for bankruptcy in October, saddled by debt, excess inventory and millions of dollars in legal claims tied to Charney. American Apparel wants approval for a plan that will bring the company out of bankruptcy under the control of hedge fund investors, including Standard General and Monarch Alternative Capital. Last week the company's board rejected a $300 million takeover bid involving Charney. Bankruptcy Judge Brendan Shannon must decide if the hedge fund-backed plan, which has the backing of a committee of the company's creditors, is fair and feasible.

The former operator of Asics stores, including its now-closed flagship U.S. location in Times Square, has filed for chapter 11 protection amid a dispute with the running shoe maker, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Windsor Financial Group LLC on Friday sought protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, court papers show, following what it says was the improper termination of a licensing agreement that allowed Windsor to operate 13 Asics stores in the U.S., which are now closed. According to Windsor Chief Executive Armando Ruiz, the stores that Windsor operated helped Asics’s U.S. unit surpass its native Japan as the company’s top region, with sales topping $1 billion in 2014. But Windsor and Asics’s partnership later soured. In July, Asics America Corp. sued Windsor in a California federal court, seeking nearly $6 million owed under the licensing agreement and trying to stop Windsor from continuing to sell Asics products at its stores. Then in October, Windsor’s investors sued Asics for allegedly withholding inventory and support for marketing activities.

EZ Worldwide Express, which delivers shipments for retailers like Amazon.com Inc., Forever 21 Inc. and the Disney Store, filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, blaming a disappointing holiday season that it said “fell far short” of expectations, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. Executives who put the 700-worker company into bankruptcy this week said that they were caught off guard by the slow business in the fourth quarter, when the company typically takes in 40 percent of its yearly revenue. The Elizabeth, N.J.-based company, which had invested $12 million in trucks and facilities in a recent expansion, ran low on money, President Ajay Aggarwal said in court documents. Amid the trouble, the company withdrew too much money from a bank account in November.