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Judge Approves Silver Point Purchase of Specialty Hospital

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Specialty Hospitals of Washington, D.C., said yesterday that it has exited bankruptcy protection under the ownership of hedge fund Silver Point Capital and new Chief Executive Marc Ferrell, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported today. Silver Point purchased Specialty Hospitals' long-term acute care and nursing homes after buying up $40 million in the company's debt at a discount earlier this year. Specialty Hospitals entered chapter 11 bankruptcy in April after negotiating a sale to Silver Point Capital. The hospital chain was facing an involuntary bankruptcy filing brought by a group of creditors.

Aereo Broadcasters at Impasse over Sale of Technology

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Several major broadcasters refused to back down Friday from attempts to control when and to whom bankrupt Aereo Inc. can sell its technology, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported today. Facing an impasse between the failed TV-streaming service and broadcasters including CBS Corp., Walt Disney Co.'s ABC, Comcast Corp.'s NBC and 21st Century Fox Inc.'s Fox, Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane held off on approving a proposal outlining how Aereo plans to sell its assets. As of Friday afternoon, Aereo and broadcasters were privately discussing ways to resolve differences on the sale process, including at what point Aereo can begin deleting its servers and how much time broadcasters would have to oppose any prospective buyers.

Aereo Battles Broadcasters over Proposed Bankruptcy Sale

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Filing for bankruptcy was supposed to protect Aereo Inc. from broadcasters that killed the TV-streaming company's business after years of litigation. Instead, it has only intensified the fighting, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported today. Aereo, which allowed users to watch and record broadcast TV through the Internet, halted its services in June after the U.S. Supreme Court determined the company was unlawfully exploiting the copyrighted works of major broadcasters without permission or payment. Aereo is down to 12 employees and $3.6 million in cash, an amount it hopes will last long enough to pull off some kind of sale.

Bankruptcy Judge Clears Dendreon to Pursue Sale

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A bankruptcy judge yesterday cleared cancer-drug maker Dendreon Corp. to pursue a sale in case such a deal yields more money for its creditors than a restructuring led by its bondholders, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Bankruptcy Judge Peter Walsh authorized Dendreon to put itself up for sale at an auction early next year, where bidders will have to offer more than $275 million to have a shot at acquiring the maker of prostate cancer drug Provenge. If no bidders are willing to offer that much, Dendreon hopes to proceed with a restructuring in which unsecured bondholders owed $620 million could trade their debt for equity in the reorganized company. Two large groups of Dendreon’s bondholders agreed to the terms of such a restructuring before the company sought chapter 11 protection last month. Those agreements, however, came under fire yesterday by the U.S. Trustee’s office. U.S. Trustee trial attorney David Buchbinder argued that the restructuring plan support agreements not only propose to treat some creditors better than others but also could provide for the improper payment of the noteholders’ attorneys and advisers.

Revel Files Motion to Terminate Deal with Brookfield Property

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Shuttered Revel Casino Hotel filed an emergency motion yesterday, seeking approval to terminate its deal with Brookfield Property Partners LP and schedule a hearing to approve the sale to backup bidder Polo North Country Club Inc., Reuters reported today. Brookfield won the auction for Atlantic City, New Jersey's bankrupt Revel with a $110 million bid in October, outbidding Polo North Country Club. Florida developer Glenn Straub, who owns Polo, had at that time told Reuters he was prepared to bid up to at least $134 million. Last month, Brookfield Property made a surprise announcement that it was walking away from its October agreement for the 1,400-room hotel complex, blaming a disagreement over a utility contract for the faltering deal. It did not provide an official notice terminating the deal at that time, leaving some hope the sale could be rescued.

Judge Approves Sale of Canyon Ranch Hotel to Z Capital Partners

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A judge approved private-equity fund manager Z Capital Partners’ purchase of the Canyon Ranch Hotel & Spa in Miami Beach, which a Lehman Brothers affiliate put into bankruptcy protection earlier this year, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Bankruptcy Judge Shelley C. Chapman last week approved the $21.6 million sale to Z Capital, a deal that a disgruntled group of Canyon Ranch condo owners who wanted to buy the property had fought in court. However, Z Capital and another group of Canyon Ranch condo owners that already supported the deal have reportedly reached a compromise with the disgruntled group that satisfies their objections. Details of the compromise weren’t disclosed.

Great Northern Paper to Be Sold for 5.4 Million

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Maine's shuttered Great Northern Paper Co. is selling its assets for $5.4 million to Los Angeles-based Hackman Capital Partners, an investment firm that focuses on the purchase and sale of industrial real estate and equipment, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported yesterday. Since its September bankruptcy filing, Great Northern has said that it hoped to find a buyer to restart its mill operations, which current owner Cate Street Capital halted earlier this year.

Bodybuilders Supplement Company Hits the Auction Block

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A nutritional supplement business led by former professional bodybuilder Rich Gaspari has collapsed into bankruptcy under the weight of $16 million in debt, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Annual sales for Gaspari Nutrition Inc.’s muscle-building formulas like “Aminolast,” “Super Pump,” and “MyoFusion Advanced” have fallen from a peak of $78 million in 2011, said lawyers who put the New Jersey company into chapter 11 protection. The company, which sells its products online and at The Vitamin Shoppe, expects to make $45 million in sales this year. An affiliate of the U.K.-based Body Temple Ltd. has offered to pay $5 million in cash for the business, which is located near the Jersey Shore in Lakewood. At least one other buyer put in an offer for the company, which means that the business will be put up for auction on Monday, said Gaspari Nutrition lawyer Joshua Klein.

Energy Future Holdings Given Conditional Approval to Take Oncor Bids

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Bankrupt power company Energy Future Holdings Corp. received conditional court approval to accept bids for its majority stake in Oncor, a power transmission company in Texas worth billions of dollars, Reuters reported yesterday. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Sontchi said yesterday that Energy Future could begin accepting bids once it had changed the way affiliates approved of the plan to sell Oncor. He also said that the bidding process must involve the two official creditors committees and the time frame for the sale should be extended. "The immense size of this case and $18 billion asset is certainly unusual and the involvement of public companies as bidders is a complicating factor,” Judge Sontchi said. “But there is no reason to depart from established practices that have developed for selling an asset in bankruptcy.” Creditors had objected to the proposed process because it involved sealed bids to choose a stalking-horse bidder. Once the stalking horse was chosen, Energy Future planned to have an open auction when all bids could be reviewed by participants. Judge Sontchi said that Energy Future would have to allow the participation of the two official creditors committees in the selection of a stalking horse bidder. The company originally set a deadline for final bids for the role of stalking horse on Nov. 21, which Sontchi said would have to be extended.

Bankruptcy Judge Approves C&S Purchase of Associated

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A bankruptcy judge signed off on C&S Wholesale Grocers Inc.'s $288 million purchase of Pennsylvania-based food distributor Associated Wholesalers Inc., Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported today. Judge Kevin Carey approved the sale of Associated, a cooperative whose subsidiaries include White Rose and Nell's Shurfine Markets, at a Wednesday hearing. The sale, which is expected to close by Thanksgiving, includes almost all of Associated's assets as well as its 2,200 employees. (Subscription required.)