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Kodak to Stop Selling Inkjet Printers by 2013

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Eastman Kodak Co. said that it plans to stop selling inkjet printers by 2013 as it winds down most of its consumer businesses and focuses on commercial printing, Reuters reported on Friday. Kodak, which has already shuttered its digital camera business, said on Friday that it expects to incur a charge of $90 million related to the wind-down of the inkjet business. The company will, however, continue to sell ink to existing customers of inkjet printers. The company said that it expects to cut 200 more jobs, adding to the 1,000 announced earlier this month. It has cut 2,700 jobs so far this year.

Bankruptcy Judge Approves GameTech Sale to Yuri Itkis

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Bankruptcy Judge Peter J. Walsh approved the $16 million sale of computer bingo terminal maker GameTech International Inc. to an investment vehicle controlled by gambling industry veteran Yuri Itkis, Dow Jones DBR Small Cap reported today. Cash-strapped GameTech filed for bankruptcy after its bank lenders sold their loans to the Las Vegas-based trust.

Builder Will Have to Adjust Bankruptcy Plan

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Bankruptcy Court Judge Mike Nakagawa found several flaws tied to a trust fund created by the American West Development's reorganization plan and denied the plan at a hearing on Thursday, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported on Friday. American West will have the opportunity to rework provisions, but no timetable was laid out. "We were pleased with the clear direction," said American West President Robert Evans. "We finally have direction about how to clean up the process and get the plan confirmed." Evans said that changes would be incorporated "very quickly," restarting the legal process and a new vote on the provisions. The office of the U.S. Trustee had raised objections to explanations provided to homeowners about how the trust would be funded, plus legal protections granted to people not in bankruptcy, including company founder and owner Lawrence Canarelli.

Bains Contec Aims to Exit Chapter 11

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Contec Holdings Ltd., the cable-box repair company owned by Bain Capital Partners, is seeking approval of its plan to slash its $360 million debt load and exit chapter 11 protection, Dow Jones Newswires reported on Friday. Under the plan, which is subject to the approval of a bankruptcy judge, senior lenders led by units of Barclays PLC would take the majority of the new equity in the restructured Contec as well as $27.5 million in new second-lien term notes. Subordinated noteholders owed $159 million would get warrants to purchase new shares, while unsecured trade creditors would get cash. In addition to supporting Contec's restructuring plan, certain senior lenders have put up $35 million in bankruptcy financing and agreed to provide a $25 million bankruptcy exit loan.

Lehman IRS Reach Deal on Disputed Tax Claims

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Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and the Internal Revenue Service have reached a settlement over hundreds of millions of dollars in disputed tax claims and penalties, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported on Friday. Lehman and the IRS, which have already resolved disputes over more than two dozen tax issues, on Wednesday filed a new settlement, bankruptcy court papers show. Under the settlement, the IRS agreed to concede $238 million of the $574 million in taxes and penalties it sought to impose on Lehman, while Lehman will agree to tax adjustments totaling $336 million. Another $230 million in IRS claims will be resolved outside of the settlement "by operation of law," Lehman said.

LightSquared Seeks a Fresh Signal from FCC

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LightSquared Inc., the wireless venture controlled by hedge-fund manager Philip Falcone, on Friday sought regulatory approval for a plan it believes will overcome the technical problems that have postponed its launch of a next-generation network and tipped the company into bankruptcy protection, the Wall Street Journal reported today. In a filing with the Federal Communications Commission, LightSquared said it would use its broadband network in a way that would address concerns that its signals interfere with global positioning systems. In a second filing, the company said that it would forgo using the airwaves that triggered those GPS interference worries in the first place. The filings come at a critical time in LightSquared's chapter 11 case, which was filed in May. The company will ask a judge today if it can extend until at least next summer the amount of time it has the exclusive right to file a reorganization plan, without the threat of rival proposals.

Old Claims Follow Hawker Beechcraft in Bankruptcy

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A long-running legal fight involving allegations that Wichita, Kan.-based Hawker Beechcraft made false statements and misrepresentations in the sale of military aircraft to the United States is now dogging the company’s bankruptcy proceedings, the Associated Press reported yesterday. Former employees of a subcontractor of Hawker Beechcraft sued the company more than five years ago under the False Claims Act, which allows citizens to bring claims on behalf of the government. The complex case has yet to be resolved. When Hawker Beechcraft filed for bankruptcy protection in May, those court proceedings were halted. But plaintiffs Donald Minge and David Kiehl last week asked the bankruptcy court to find that their claims are not dischargeable in bankruptcy. They argued that because they are prosecuting the false actions claim on behalf of the government, the debt is owed to “a domestic governmental unit.” They are also seeking costs and attorney fees.

Metro Fuel Oil Files Bankruptcy

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Metro Fuel Oil Co., a closely held provider of heating oil, construction site fueling and central air conditioning, filed for bankruptcy with a proposed investment from the real-estate billionaire Sam Zell and a plan to sell the company in 90 days, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. The company's chapter 11 petition filed yesterday listed as much as $50 million in assets and $100 million in debt. A “liquidity squeeze” brought on the bankruptcy filing, and a sale of all of the company’s access is planned within 90 days, the company said in court papers. Prior to the bankruptcy, Metro Fuel Oil’s outstanding long-term secured debt was about $58.8 million, consisting of $48.3 million of bank debt and $10.5 million of project financing related to a new biodiesel plant. The company also estimates its trade creditors have claims or around $10 million, according to the filing.

Defense Cuts Force Southern Air Inc. to File for Bankruptcy

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U.S. cargo airline Southern Air Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection today citing cutbacks in defense budget and U.S. troop reduction in Afghanistan, Reuters reported. The filing comes as the government's self-imposed year-end deadline approaches to agree on a plan to shrink the federal budget or trigger $600 billion in spending cuts and higher taxes. The Pentagon early this year outlined a 2013 budget plan to reduce spending by $487 billion over the next decade. Southern Air posted a revenue of about $428.2 million and a net loss of $159.8 million for the year ended July 31. The company had assets of about $206.9 million and liabilities of about $486.5 million as of that date. The Connecticut-based company, which operates a fleet of 11 Boeing Co aircraft, has about 611 full-time employees, according to its chapter 11 petition.

UMWA Looks Toward Grassroots Effort over Venue Dispute in Patriots Chapter 11

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Bankruptcy lawyers and restructuring professionals are anxiously awaiting word from Bankruptcy Judge Shelley C. Chapman about whether Patriot Coal Corp.'s chapter 11 proceeding should be moved from Manhattan to Charleston, W.V., the Wall Street Journal reported today. That is because Judge Chapman's decision is expected to illuminate Bankruptcy Code rules about where corporations can take refuge from creditors. The United Mine Workers of America, which is calling for Patriot's case to be moved out of New York, held a rally and a march before packing a federal courtroom in Charleston to watch the webcast venue debate in New York earlier this month.