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Hostess Floats 200 Million in Cost Cuts to Exit Bankruptcy

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In a heavily negotiated deal months in the making, Hostess Brands this week extended its final offer to unions representing nearly half the company's employees in order to save the company and force it out of bankruptcy, CNBC.com reported yesterday. The proposed deal would save Hostess nearly $200 million in costs, according to a person familiar with the matter, with some $60 million in transaction fees being forfeited by advisers involved in the deal in order to improve liquidity. According to the plan, wage cuts of 8 percent (saving roughly $40 million) would be implemented across the entire company, including management. Company contributions to health plans would be slashed by 17 percent. The biggest cuts would come to the company's multi-employer pension plans, where Hostess will slash $75 million by ceasing contribution until January 2015. At that time, the company will contribute a quarter of the amount it did previously.

Judge to Stay Tribunes Reorganization Plan Pending 1.5 Billion Creditors Bond

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Tribune Co. creditors won a stay yesterday of last month's order confirming the company's plan to exit bankruptcy, so long as they pay a $1.5 billion bond, Reuters reported yesterday. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Carey gave the creditors until Aug. 29 to post the bond in order to keep the plan on hold while they pursue an appeal. Creditors including Aurelius Capital Management LP had appealed Judge Carey's July 23 decision signing off on the plan for the publisher of the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and Baltimore Sun. Auerlius, which has been leading the opposition to the plan, has argued it and a related settlement would force bondholders to accept only $369 million for $2 billion to $2.3 billion in legitimate claims.

Broadview Networks Files for Pre-Packaged Bankruptcy

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Broadview Networks Holdings Inc., a communications and information technology provider/operator, filed for a pre-packaged chapter 11 bankruptcy yesterday, Reuters reported. The company, headquartered in Rye Brook, N.Y., filed court papers listing $258.3 million in assets at the end of the first quarter and $373.4 million in liabilities. The company had been exploring merger, refinancing and restructuring options during the last 18 months in an effort to have enough capital by the time $300 million in senior secured notes matured Sept. 1, CEO Michael Robinson said in a declaration filed in court. Broadview said that the pre-packaged plan would enable the company to eliminate half its debt.

ATP Wins Approval for Credit Suisse Bankruptcy Financing

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ATP Oil & Gas Corp., the Gulf of Mexico oil producer that filed last week for bankruptcy, was given preliminary approval by a judge for $618 million in financing, Bloomberg News reported today. Bankruptcy Judge Marvin Isgur in Houston yesterday gave interim approval to the financing from Credit Suisse Group AG and other lenders after requiring changes to some terms. The bankruptcy financing provides $250 million in new money and refinances $367.6 million in debt, according to court papers. Lenders include Credit Suisse, Fortress Credit Opportunities I LP and MSD Credit Opportunity Master Fund LP. ATP said that it plans to initially borrow as much as $80 million in new money, and it will return to court for final approval of the loan.

Singapore Fund Offers 1.5 Billion for Paulson Luxury Resorts

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Singapore's real estate investment arm is offering to buy four U.S. luxury resorts from hedge fund Paulson & Co. for $1.5 billion, subject to higher bids at a bankruptcy auction, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported yesterday. Paulson, as the leader of the resorts' ownership group, is proposing an Oct. 25 auction for such properties as the Grand Wailea Resort Hotel & Spa in Maui, Hawaii, according to bankruptcy court papers filed on Friday. GIC RE, the real estate-focused unit of Singapore's sovereign-wealth fund, is offering to serve as stalking horse at the auction and lead off the bidding. Its $1.5 billion offer includes $360 million in debt forgiveness and $1.1 billion in cash.

PBGC to Take over SP Newsprints Underfunded Pensions

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The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. (PBGC) said that it is taking over the pensions of nearly 1,300 current and future retirees of Peter Brant's SP Newsprint Co., which is working to sell its assets in chapter 11, Dow Jones DBR Small Cap reported today. The PBGC estimates the SP Newsprint pension plans are 49 percent funded, with $74.4 million in assets to cover $150.7 million in benefits. The agency said it expects to cover $73 million of the $76.3 million shortfall.

Seagate Technology in Deal to Buy Solyndra Plant

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Seagate Technology Plc, maker of hard drives and storage devices, has reached an agreement to buy the former manufacturing plant and headquarters building of bankrupt Solyndra LLC, Reuters reported yesterday. The price for the building in Fremont, Calif., could not be determined. A bankruptcy court in February approved the appointment of Chicago-based Jones Lang LaSalle to market the building, which cost more than $300 million and was completed in 2010, according to court documents. At that time, the property was expected to fetch around $150 million. A final sale is subject to due diligence and the approval of the bankruptcy court.

After Bankruptcy Alternative Game-Streaming Company OnLive Lives On

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OnLive, the video game streaming startup that was full of promise when it was unveiled three years ago, has reorganized its business and cut roughly half of its staff amid financial difficulties, the Associated Press reported yesterday. However, the company says that it will continue to operate under the same name and customers should not see a change in their service. Late last week, OnLive went through assignment for the benefit of creditors to avoid bankruptcy and allow it to continue operating its service. But employee stock options and investments from outsiders became worthless. HTC Corp., the Taiwanese mobile phone maker, said that it expects to book a loss of about $40 million for its investment in OnLive.

South Mississippi Electric to Pay 285.9 Million for LSP Energy

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LSP Energy is seeking to sell its operations to South Mississippi Electric Power Association for $285.9 million, Dow Jones DBR Small Cap reported today. In court papers filed on Friday, LSP said that South Mississippi won an Aug. 13 auction for its assets with a $285.9 million bid.

Barclays Dips Into Bankruptcy Lending Pool

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Barclays is standing tall in the world of debtor-in-possession financing this year, largely in part to a $1.45 billion DIP loan that the bank arranged for mortgage lender Residential Capital LLC (ResCap) earlier this year, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday. Putting together the complex loan was possible because of Barclays’s banking business breadth and balance sheet depth, said Mark Shapiro, head of restructuring and financing at the British bank. His team worked intensely with folks on Barclays’s securitization, conduit financing, leveraged finance and equity analysis teams to dive into ResCap’s bankruptcy intricacies and seal the deal. Barclays was the sole provider of DIP financing in ResCap’s bankruptcy, which includes a $1.25 billion in term loan facilities and a $200 million revolver. The bank also emerged last month as the co-lead arranger of Patriot Coal Corp.’s $802 million DIP loan alongside Citigroup and Merrill Lynch, which pushed the amount of new money DIP financing provided by Barclays since January 2011 to $1.82 billion. Last year, Barclays was a joint lead in the $600 million DIP loan for NewPage Corp.