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The Justice Department and eight states filed an antitrust suit against Google on Tuesday, seeking to shatter its alleged monopoly on the entire ecosystem of online advertising as a hurtful burden to advertisers, consumers and even the U.S. government, the Associated Press reported. The government alleges that Google’s plan to assert dominance has been to “neutralize or eliminate” rivals through acquisitions and to force advertisers to use its products by making it difficult to use competitors’ products. The antitrust suit was filed in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a press conference Tuesday that “for 15 years, Google has pursued a course of anti-competitive conduct” that has halted the rise of rival technologies and manipulated the mechanics of online ad auctions to force advertisers and publishers to use its tools. In so doing, he added, “Google has engaged in exclusionary conduct” that has “severely weakened,” if not destroyed, competition in the ad tech industry.

GigaMonster Networks LLC, a high-speed internet provider backed by investment firm Barings LLC, filed for chapter 11 protection, aiming to sell itself under bankruptcy, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The Marietta, Ga.-based company specializes in deploying high-speed internet services to multifamily and commercial buildings. It sought chapter 11 protection on Monday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., after having struggled to quickly expand the company through acquisitions, according to the court filing. “Growth was slower than anticipated, and the company did not generate revenues sufficient to offset the drain on cash” to cover the fixed costs, said Rian Branning, the company’s chief restructuring officer, in the filing. GigaMonster started as Kubix LLC, a Florida limited liability company founded in 2013, and was changed to the current name the following year. The company contracts with property owners to set up high-speed internet networks for the Internet of Things, including smart lighting, security systems, door locks and thermostats. It also provides internet services to subscribers in those buildings. In 2019, Barings Asset-Based Income Fund (U.S.) LP became the majority investor. But the company’s growth has been limited, and it currently contracts with about 400 properties and about 35,000 internet subscribers. GigaMonster’s net operating loss was about $22 million on revenue of about $18.8 million in 2021, according to a filing. The condition didn’t improve in 2022 and, as of October, it reported a net loss of about $22.5 million, the filing said. The company had about $44 million in debt as of the petition date, according to court papers.

Avaya Holdings Corp. has held talks with lenders over a plan that could hand them control of the company as part of a bankruptcy filing, Bloomberg News reported. The chapter 11 filing, which allows a company to keep operating while working out a plan to repay creditors, could come as soon as the end of the month, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private. The company has been in negotiations with first-lien lenders including Apollo Global Management, Ares Management and Invesco, the people added. The telecommunications firm has also started discussions with select lenders about potential debtor-in-possession financing to help fund the company while in bankruptcy, the people said. Talks are ongoing and plans could change, they added. Avaya last month disclosed that it received multiple restructuring proposals from creditor groups, with some pushing for the company to restructure via bankruptcy, while others wanted Avaya to stay out of court, according to regulatory filings.

Crypto lenders have repossessed so many Bitcoin mining rigs they’re resorting to plugging them in and extracting tokens themselves, Bloomberg News reported. Lenders are getting creative as to what to do with the mining machines they accepted as collateral for the some $4 billion in rig-backed loans they underwrote when the rally in Bitcoin seemed unstoppable. With the recent surge in loan defaults and plunge in cryptocurrencies, the value of new generation machines has dropped 85%, according to data from Luxor Technologies. While some machines are just sitting in warehouses, waiting for prices to recover, lenders like New York Digital Investment Group LLC are using debt negotiations to find alternative solutions. In December, NYDIG agreed to pay Greenidge Generation Holdings not only for its mining rigs but to operate them in exchange for debt reduction. The deal effectively made Greenidge — once one of the largest Bitcoin miners — a hosting firm while NYDIG became the miner. “Lenders are flooded with mining rigs,” said Wolfie Zhao, head of research at TheMinerMag, a research arm of mining consultancy BlocksBridge. “One way for the lenders to prevent further losses from the defaulted loans is to keep the collateralized machines running and generate some income.” It’s an option lenders are taking more seriously, especially those that already have mining capabilities to build on, including Galaxy Digital LP and Digital Currency Group Inc.’s Foundry. Bitcoin mining — which uses specialized computers known as rigs to validate transactions on the blockchain in exchange for rewards in the token — was among the most lucrative businesses in crypto. Miners had sought to leverage that value in the runup of Bitcoin’s historic rally. But with a surge in energy prices and Bitcoin down 58% on the year, a number of loans are now underwater. A Valkyrie index of Bitcoin miners is down 75% from a year ago, even after this week’s 30% jump on optimism a U.S. economic recovery could prop up crypto prices.

U.S. managed services and cloud connectivity provider GTT, formerly called Global Telecom and Technology, has emerged from its chapter 11 bankruptcy cases after more than two years of corporate and financial restructuring, BNAmericas.com reported. The company, which maintains ethernet and IP sites in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Mexico City, first filed for bankruptcy protection in October 2021. "Over the past two years, we have concentrated relentlessly on transforming our business into a customer-focused, managed services provider with a culture of continuous improvement. As we begin 2023 on a new path, I’m tremendously excited about the opportunities ahead,” CEO Ernie Ortega said. Throughout this period, the company has managed to reduce its debt by around $2.8 billion and bring in new investors. For example, it sold its infrastructure division to I Squared Capital for $2.1 billion, cutting debt by approximately 80%, according to GTT.

Avaya Holdings Corp. is nearing a chapter 11 bankruptcy filing to restructure its balance sheet as it looks to turn around its business and move past problems surrounding the company’s accounting, the Wall Street Journal reported. Avaya disclosed earlier this week it has reviewed various restructuring proposals from competing creditor groups. One plan, supported by a senior lender group including Apollo Global Management, would significantly reduce Avaya’s debt load through chapter 11, wipe out shareholders and, pending the completion of an internal investigation into controls over financial reporting, provide directors and executives with releases from potential litigation. In August, Avaya said it had launched an investigation while it was “reviewing matters related to potential material weaknesses in the company’s internal control over financial reporting.” Another plan, supported by holders of Avaya’s unsecured bonds, proposes to restructure the company out of court, including by issuing new bonds and loans to retire some old debt. The company in August said there was substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern in light of a debt maturity next year, and disclosed it would miss its third-quarter earnings forecast by more than 60% after closing a deal to issue $600 million of new debt in June. Prices on the newly issued debt tumbled after the disclosure about the earnings, saddling investors with losses.