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Less than two months after entering Chapter 11 protection, Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. won court approval yesterday of a reorganization plan that cuts $975 million in debt from its balance sheet, the Wall Street Journal reported today. The approval from Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane largely concludes what an attorney for Eagle Bulk said was a year-long process to restructure the dry bulk shipper's finances. Under its uncontested, pre-packaged bankruptcy plan, Eagle Bulk's lenders, who are owed $1.2 billion, will convert their debt into 99.5 percent of the new equity in the reorganized company and receive a cash distribution. Current equity will be canceled, with those equity holders receiving the remaining 0.5 percent in new stock, along with seven-year warrants to acquire another 7.5 percent of new equity.

Imagenetix Inc., a San Diego-based company developing over-the-counter topical creams, skincare products and nutritional supplements, announced that its reorganization plan was confirmed and that all provisions of the plan were approved by Bankruptcy Judge Margaret Mann with an effective date of Sept. 16, the San Diego Business Journal reported today. Shareholders as of the initial filing were not impacted and continue to retain their holdings. Payments to unsecured creditors are being accelerated and will be paid per the plan shortly after the effective date. All previous litigation naming Imagenetix as a defendant has been favorably resolved.

LightSquared blew through $81.4 million in August, and Philip Falcone's wireless venture has now lost $1.6 billion since it filed for bankruptcy in May 2012, the Wall Street Journal reported today. The loss was $30 million more than the company spent in July, mostly attributed to a reuse fee it had to pay on its wireless spectrum, and a higher-than-usual charge for depreciation, depletion and amortization, according to a monthly operating report filed on Tuesday in bankruptcy court. Once again, LightSquared's biggest expense was interest paid on its debt. These payments totaled $39.3 million in August. The interest payments, mostly to the holders of LightSquared's bank debt, now stand at $943.2 million since the company filed for bankruptcy.

A group of lenders to LodgeNet---a hotel Internet and technology provider that filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy last year and sped through the process in two months---are suing the reorganized company and other lenders, saying that a subsequent restructuring is "intended to eviscerate" their rights under the company's original bankruptcy-exit plan, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported today. Although the lawsuit was filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan as part of LodgeNet's original chapter 11 case, the bulk of the complaint involves an agreement that was negotiated months after LodgeNet exited bankruptcy in March 2013. Sonifi Solutions Inc., which is the name LodgeNet now uses, again encountered financial troubles after exiting bankruptcy and at the end of 2013 needed once more to restructure its debt, according to the complaint filed on Wednesday.

Smallpox drug maker Siga Technologies Inc. on Wednesday told a judge that without bankruptcy protection, it "would no longer be able to continue its operations,” the Wall Street Journal reported today. Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP's Harvey Miller, a Siga lawyer, called Siga a healthy company that filed for chapter 11 because it can't afford to post the necessary bond that would allow it to appeal a recent court decision over its smallpox drug, Tecoviramat. "Siga believes that it has meritorious and substantial grounds for appeal," Mr. Miller said. Siga filed for bankruptcy on Tuesday, saying the automatic stay provided by the bankruptcy code is the only thing that can prevent it from having to post as much as $200 million related to the loss so it can appeal. Last month, a Delaware corporate-law court found Siga liable to PharmAthene Inc. in a licensing dispute, a decision that could mean a damages award of $232 million or more. The court ruled PharmAthene was entitled to lost profits related to Tescoviramat.

A federal bankruptcy judge has rejected West Virginia American Water Company’s effort to block a class-action settlement between Freedom Industries and thousands of victims of January’s Elk River chemical spill, the Charleston (W.Va.) Gazette reported today. Bankruptcy Judge Ronald Pearson approved a proposal from Freedom Industries and lawyers for Kanawha Valley residents for the filing of a new class-action lawsuit that would provide a nearly $3 million settlement that would be used for health studies, water testing or other projects to benefit residents affected by the spill. The ruling by Pearson is the latest twist in the multiple court cases and investigations related to the January spill of a mixture of Crude MCHM and other chemicals from a Freedom Industries chemical tank located just 1.5 miles upstream from West Virginia American’s regional water plant. The plant serves about 300,000 people in Charleston and the surrounding communities. In July, lawyers for area residents and businesses filed court documents indicating that they had reached a proposed settlement with Freedom Industries for the company to turn over about $2.9 million that Freedom is likely to get from its insurance company.

As former customers keep a wary eye on the online version that new owners are planning for the Coldwater Creek women's clothing line, the former company yesterday won confirmation of its bankruptcy debt-payment plan, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported today. Bankruptcy Judge Brendan Shannon signed off on the chapter 11 liquidation scheme for the former retailer at a hearing, calling it "a good result in a challenging case." Original projections were that unsecured creditors would get nothing from the bankruptcy, but they will collect from 10 to 17 percent of what they are owed thanks to a deal between the dissolving company and the unsecured creditors’ committee.

The father-and-son owners of 28 rental properties encompassing 90 units in Fall River, Mass., filed for bankruptcy protection yesterday, attributing their companies' problems to crime, fire and uncooperative bankers, the Boston Business Journal reported today. Through a series of related filings, the entities seeking chapter 11 protection are: D. Brian Colville, David B. Colville, D. Brian Colville LLC, Colville Properties LLC and Wade Realty LLC. The Colvilles administer the properties, according to court papers, through an entity called C&C Property Management LLC. Fall River Five Cents Savings Bank, which holds a note with a principle balance of $2.25 million secured by first mortgages on 19 properties. Rockland Trust Company, which holds a note with a principle balance of $1.8 million secured by a mortgage on 13 properties.

Specialty retailer Brookstone yesterday said that its president and chief executive, James Speltz, has resigned after taking the seller of travel gadgets and massage chairs through bankruptcy proceedings this summer, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday. Steve Schwartz, a 15-year veteran of the company who is currently Brookstone's chief merchandising officer, will serve as interim president and CEO. Brookstone, which has about 240 stores in malls and airports, filed for bankruptcy protection in April. In court filings, the company said sales have lagged since 2007, and that it began searching for a buyer after a weak 2013 holiday season. Chinese investment firm Sailing Capital Overseas Investment Fund LP and Chinese conglomerate Sanpower Group won an auction in June to buy Brookstone for $174 million, trumping a $146.3 million offer from an affiliate of Spencer Spirit Holdings Inc., the parent company of Spencer's and Spirit Halloween retail chains.

An auction for Oncor, the regulated distribution unit of bankrupt Texas power company Energy Future Holdings, could come in the first quarter of next year, as interest in the prized asset mounts, Reuters reported yesterday. Energy Future, which filed one of the 10 largest chapter 11 bankruptcies in April, is targeting an auction in the first quarter of 2015, with Bank of America Merrill Lynch retained to seek buyers, the people said in recent days. NextEra Energy Inc., which last month dropped a bid for Oncor, and Hunt Consolidated, which recently hired a former Energy Future executive to lead its investment arm, are expected to continue to be in the fray. Hunt is considering structuring Oncor as a real estate investment trust (REIT) to go along with its Sharyland Utilities unit, which is among the only REIT-structured entities in the energy sector. Houston-based Centerpoint Energy and Spanish Iberdola SA have also shown interest.