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Pinnacle Airlines Corp. said yesterday that it reached agreements, including additional financing, that will allow it to emerge from bankruptcy protection as a subsidiary of Delta Air Lines Inc., the Associated Press reported yesterday. Pinnacle said that it must file a reorganization plan acceptable to Delta and other creditors by Feb. 15. The company is trying to cut costs and streamline its fleet to 81 fuel-efficient planes that it would operate for Delta, which has been pressing Pinnacle to reduce costs.

Nortel Networks a motion for approval of a settlement agreement with its official committee of retired employees, BankruptcyData.com reported today. Under the terms of the settlement, the Nortel would terminate the retiree welfare plans as of May 31, and pay the retiree committee $67 million in settlement of all claims related to the retiree welfare plans. The agreement further provides that holders of retiree claims would release Nortel from further liability. A bankruptcy court hearing is scheduled for January 23 on the matter.

AMR Corp. sought bankruptcy court approval for restructured contracts with its aircraft and jet engines suppliers that the carrier said will help it switch to more fuel-efficient planes as part of its reorganization, Bloomberg News reported today. AMR, the parent company of American Airlines, filed redacted settlement agreements with Boeing Co., Airbus SAS, General Electric Co. and Rolls-Royce Plc. The restructured agreements will in "no way adversely impact" AMR’s pursuit of strategic alternatives, the company said in the request.

News Publishing Co., the owner of nine community newspapers mainly located in Georgia, filed for chapter 11 protection on Tuesday, Dow Jones DBR Small Cap reported today. News Publishing has between $1 million and $10 million worth of assets and between $1 million and $10 million in debts, according to court documents. The largest debt listed in News Publishing's petition is a $4.04 million loan, originally issued by Wachovia Bank and now owned by Northwest Georgia Capital LLC.

Creditors of A123 Systems Inc. are seeking to hire a lobbying firm in an attempt to stop political forces from derailing a $256.6 million sale deal, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported yesterday. The company's unsecured creditors' committee wants court permission to bring on Capitol Counsel LLC, whose professionals are "among the most seasoned lobbyists in Washington," according to the committee, as it seeks to ensure a sale that recently won a bankruptcy judge's blessing remains intact. A123, a government-backed battery maker that has yet to turn a profit, received court approval on Dec. 11 to sell most of its assets to China's Wanxiang America Corp. The proposed buyer beat out rival bidder and stalking horse Johnson Controls Inc. at auction, but the fight for the assets did not end there. The sale to Wanxiang remains subject to the approval of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, a government body led by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner that reviews deals that could result in the control of a U.S. business by a foreign person or company.

THQ's financial fall continues as the company has been dropped from the NASDAQ stock exchange following a dip in value resulting from the firm's recent chapter 11 filing, DigitalTrends.com reported today. NASDAQ rules require that a listed company’s stock maintain a value of at least $1 per share. On December 19, the day THQ announced that it was filing for chapter 11 protection, the company’s stock dipped to $0.36 per share. It currently trades at $0.22 per share. For the moment, THQ will continue to be traded on other stock markets, specifically over-the-counter markets that operate via telephone and Internet, instead of a trading floor. Once the company’s bankruptcy proceedings conclude however, THQ will become a privately-owned company with no stock to speak of. The firm’s stated goal is to slowly work its way back up, and being a privately-owned video game publisher would allow it to take more risks and be a more agile company.

LodgeNet Interactive Corp. said that it will file a pre-packaged chapter 11 under an agreement with affiliates of Colony Capital LLC, which will invest $60 million in the provider of on-demand movies to hotel rooms, Bloomberg News reported on Monday. LodgeNet 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 the company's filings. LodgeNet said that it expects unsecured creditors will be paid in full at the end of the Chapter 11 process. A steering committee of lenders holding the company’s debt will support a five-year extension of its $346 million secured credit facility.

Mental health rehabilitation and addiction treatment center Baltimore Behavioral Health Inc. (BBH) has filed for bankruptcy protection because it owes more than $5.5 million to creditors and estimates its assets are less than $500,000, the Baltimore Sun reported yesterday. The center will continue to operate during the chapter 11 restructuring, said CEO Terry T. Brown. The bankruptcy will allow BBH to get out from under debt that has built up over the years, he said, and get the company's finances in order. The case follows a series of problems for the treatment center, including a lawsuit by employees over retirement contributions, the dismissal of several members of the board of directors and several accusations of default.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce has agreed to pay $149.5 million to the estate of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. to resolve litigation over a collateralized debt obligation tied to the bankruptcy of the former Wall Street bank, Reuters reported on Monday. The settlement resolves litigation that began on Sept. 14, 2010, when Lehman sued CIBC and dozens of others to recover more than $3 billion it said it had been deprived of due to its chapter 11 filing two years earlier. Lehman sought to hold CIBC responsible for much of the more than $1.3 billion due under an agreement requiring the Canadian bank to cover payment shortfalls tied to a large CDO transaction.

American Realty Trust wants more time behind the shield of bankruptcy to figure out how to pay off a judgment from a failed apartment building sale, Dow Jones DBR Small Cap reported today. Lawyers for American Realty are seeking a six-month extension of its exclusive right to file a chapter 11 plan explaining how it intends to pay off creditors, including a disputed $73 million judgment to a Michigan real estate developer.