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Private equity-owned Sungard Availability Services Capital Inc. is preparing a pre-arranged bankruptcy filing that would reduce its nearly $1.3 billion debt load and hand control to existing lenders in what could be the fastest court restructuring on record, Bloomberg News reported. The technology company aims to file for chapter 11 protection around May 1 with a confirmation hearing the next day. To speed up the process, Sungard negotiated the terms of a restructuring support agreement with two creditor groups, the majority of whom support the deal. The Wayne, Pennsylvania-based company plans to skip a coupon payment that was due April 1 on its 8.75 percent notes maturing April 2022 as part of the restructuring process. Its plan depends on a bankruptcy judge’s approval of Sungard’s proposal to convert existing first-lien and unsecured debt into equity. Lenders holding Sungard’s $421 million loan due 2021 and $380 million loan due 2022 are slated to receive around 89 percent of the reorganized firm, while holders of $425 million of unsecured notes will receive the remaining 11 percent, said the people. The company plans to emerge with around $400 million of debt on its balance sheet, most of which will be distributed to its existing secured lenders.

U.S. radio broadcaster iHeartMedia Inc. is considering paths to return to the public markets as it nears an end to bankruptcy court oversight, Bloomberg News reported. IHeart may pursue an initial public offering or direct listing on a U.S. exchange, the company said on Friday. As part of its reorganization plan, the San Antonio-based company is required to “use reasonable best efforts” to list its Class A common stock after it emerges from bankruptcy. IHeart in January won court approval for a plan to cut about $10 billion of debt, which would allow it to emerge from the bankruptcy it filed for in March last year. It had previously attracted interest from Liberty Media Corp., which had said that it may acquire a 40 percent stake in the business, but ultimately withdrew. The radio operator collapsed into bankruptcy after a 2008 leveraged buyout overloaded the company with debt that topped $20 billion.

Windstream Holdings Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection after losing a legal battle with hedge fund Aurelius Capital Management, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The rural broadband provider’s chapter 11 filing yesterday is the culmination of a bruising 18-month legal fight between the telecom company and Aurelius, which had argued a two-year-old spinoff of the company’s fiber-optic cable network violated the covenants on one of its bonds. Aurelius argued those covenants prohibited the company from engaging in sale-leaseback transactions. After the telecom company’s spinoff of its fiber assets into a new company called Uniti Group Inc., Windstream paid rent to Uniti to use the fiber-optic cable network. Two weeks ago, U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman ruled that Windstream violated the covenant on sale-leaseback transactions and awarded the hedge fund a judgment of $310 million plus interest. The battle highlights a growing practice among hedge funds of searching for instances where a company has violated bond covenants even though the issuer is healthy enough to continue to service and refinance its debt.

Windstream Holdings Inc., the rural broadband provider that recently lost a legal battle with hedge fund Aurelius Capital Management, is likely to file for bankruptcy by mid-March, a Citibank NA report said on Wednesday, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. In a research note, Citibank analysts David Phipps and Tony Deng said last week’s judgment in favor of Aurelius will likely trigger defaults on the company’s debt next month. They said a Windstream bankruptcy could last more than one year. A Windstream spokesman said Thursday the company is considering “all potential alternatives to maximize value for its stakeholders, maintain sufficient liquidity, and preserve the company’s long-term potential.” U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman ruled Feb. 15 that Windstream defaulted on its debt when it spun off its fiber-optic business, and the judge also awarded bondholder Aurelius more than $310 million in principal plus interest. Aurelius, the hedge fund run by ex-bankruptcy lawyer Mark Brodsky, had claimed Windstream Services, a subsidiary of publicly traded Windstream Holdings, defaulted on its bonds when it spun off its fiber-optic cable network into a new company called Uniti Group Inc. in 2015.

San Antonio-based Bridgehead Networks Inc., a managed information technology services business, filed for bankruptcy protection recently amid a dispute with the state that had the business owing hundreds of thousands of dollars in back taxes, the San Antonio Business Journal reported. Bridgehead Networks was founded in 2001 by CEO Harry Nass and has about half a dozen employees. Bridgehead Networks shares the same office address as Bridgehead IT Inc., which is a legally separate company with a different CEO, and the networking business is a customer of Bridgehead IT — which has about 40 employees. Bridgehead IT's leadership said that it doesn't expect any major impact to its operations from Bridgehead Networks' bankruptcy. Bridgehead Networks said that a sales tax dispute with the Texas Comptroller’s office after audits, which began in 2011, compelled it to file for bankruptcy, according to court documents. The Texas Comptroller alleged that the company owed more than $435,000 in sales tax for computer hardware and software sales. The company is disputing more than $749,800 in past due taxes, including penalties, records show.

The fate of Windstream Holdings Inc. was cast into doubt after a court ruled that the rural phone company defaulted on its bonds in 2015 by spinning off Uniti Group Inc. Windstream shares fell as much as 43 percent in extended trading, Bloomberg News reported. The ruling on Friday in Manhattan federal court is a victory for New York hedge fund Aurelius Capital Management LP, which contends that the deal unfairly stripped bondholders of assets that back up their investment. Windstream, which serves about 1.4 million consumers and small businesses in 18 states, has warned that a defeat could force it to seek bankruptcy protection or liquidation. Actions by the company’s Windstream Services unit breached covenants of bonds it issued, and Aurelius is entitled to a $310 million judgment, Judge Jesse Furman said in the decision. Little Rock, Arkansas-based Windstream said in a statement that it was pursuing options including an appeal.

President Trump signed an executive order yesterday meant to spur the development and regulation of artificial intelligence (A.I.), technology that many experts believe will define the future of everything from consumer products to health care to warfare, the New York Times reported. A.I. experts across industry, academia and government have long called on the Trump administration to make the development of artificial intelligence a major priority. Last spring, worried that the U.S. was not keeping pace with China and other countries, Jim Mattis, then the defense secretary, sent a memo to the White House imploring the president to create a national strategy on A.I. Now, Trump has taken that step, though this “American A.I. Initiative” might not be as bold as some had hoped. The executive order aimed to better educate workers in the field, improve access to the cloud computing services and data needed to build A.I. systems, and promote cooperation with foreign powers. But the order did not set aside funds for A.I. research and development, and the administration provided few details on how it planned put its new policies into effect.