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Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross cleared the way for solar panel parts maker Satcon Technology Corp. to speed up its auction process by two weeks after the company failed to find a lead bidder to set a floor price for its assets, Dow Jones DBR Small Cap reported today. Satcon sought to move up the auction after it failed to convince any of the 13 potential bidders who signed confidentiality agreements to put in a lead bid several weeks before the auction.

The operator of Zen Gaming Inc. filed for chapter 11 protection on Friday after struggling to make money with a business model that paid out millions of dollars to online poker players who never gambled with their own money, Dow Jones DBR Small Cap reported today. The 14-worker company tried to make money by running targeted ads on the site. Without profits, the company borrowed money from video poker inventor Ernie Moody, who is now owed about $16.9 million, according to court papers.

The Transport Workers Union of America, which represents ground workers at American Airlines, said yesterday that it has reached an agreement with US Airways Group Inc. and AMR Corp. that would grant immediate raises of 4.3 percent for its members should a merger of the two carriers take place, Reuters reported yesterday. The wage increase is spelled out in a memorandum of understanding reached over the past month with representatives of senior management at US Airways and American Airlines. The memo requires bankruptcy court approval and would take effect should the court approve a merger reorganization plan for American, which sought chapter 11 protection in November 2011.

School Specialty Inc., a money-losing distributor of non-textbook school supplies including art materials and classroom equipment, filed for bankruptcy protection and put the company on the auction block, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. School Specialty, based in Greenville, Wis., listed $494.5 million in assets and $394.5 million in debt in chapter 11 papers filed yesterday. The company has signed an asset purchase agreement with Bayside Capital Inc. for a proposed sale with competitive bidding supervised by the court, and Bayside will provide a $50 million loan, according to the statement.

Eastman Kodak Co. is looking for yet more time to put together its plan for getting out of bankruptcy, the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reported today. In a SEC filing yesterday, Kodak said that it was in discussions with some of the lenders keeping it afloat during its chapter 11, seeking their approval to move a key deadline in Kodak’s bankruptcy. Currently, the company is required to file a chapter 11 plan by Feb. 15. According to the SEC filing, Kodak is looking to move that deadline to April 30.

Patriot Coal Corp. wants to limit its obligation to pay retiree health benefits to thousands of U.S. mine workers and their families as part of its plan to survive chapter 11 bankruptcy, Reuters reported yesterday. The company has proposed creating a trust, known as a voluntary employees' beneficiary association, to provide a maximum of $40 million annually up to a limit of $200 million. The annual cost of providing retiree health benefits in 2012 was $71 million and is expected to rise to $73.8 million, nearly twice as much as Patriot has proposed to spend, according to the documents.

Powerwave Technologies Inc., a maker of antennas and amplifiers for wireless communications, filed for chapter 11 protection after losing money in four of the past five years, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. The company, based in Santa Ana, Calif., listed debt of $396 million and assets of $213 million in a chapter 11 petition filed yesterday. The case is Powerwave Technologies Inc., 13-10134, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware (Wilmington).

Hostess Brands Inc. said yesterday that it has selected stalking-horse bidders for its Drake's cake business and additional bread brands that will net the bankrupt bakery company more than $56 million, Reuters reported yesterday. McKee Foods, maker of Little Debbie snack cakes, is offering roughly $27 million for Drake's, which makes Devil Dogs, Ring Dings and Yodels. United States Bakery Inc., also known as Franz Family Bakery, is expected to bid about the same amount for Hostess bread brands including Sweetheart, Eddy's, Standish Farms and Grandma Emilie's.

LodgeNet Interactive Corp. filed for bankruptcy protection with plans to be taken over by affiliates of Colony Capital LLC, which will invest $60 million and work with DirecTV to provide on-demand movies to hotel rooms, Bloomberg News reported today. LodgeNet had about $292 million in consolidated assets and about $449 million in consolidated debt as of Sept. 30, 2012, according to court papers. LodgeNet reported consolidated revenue of about $379 million for the twelve months ending Sept. 30, court papers show. LodgeNet, based in Sioux Falls, S.D., has not posted an annual profit since 2006. Last year, 95 percent of its revenue came from the hotel industry, with Hilton Worldwide and Marriott International Inc. accounting for about a third of sales, according to company filings.

Dreier LLP is demanding its share of the millions of dollars in fees earned from litigation that its former patent lawyers continued working on after the firm’s collapse, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. Bankruptcy trustee Sheila M. Gowan, who is running Dreier’s liquidation, on Wednesday sued three former Dreier partners to recover the profits from the unfinished business the partners took with them when they left the firm. The firm dissolved and went into bankruptcy in December 2008, days after founder Marc Dreier was arrested for defrauding hedge funds and other investors out of more than $400 million.