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Falcone Leaves LightSquared Board Amid Bankruptcy Talks

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Philip Falcone resigned from the board of LightSquared Inc., the bankrupt wireless-spectrum owner he has tried to build into a rival to U.S. mobile providers, amid negotiations with creditors to reorganize the company, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. Falcone and four other people appointed to the board by his Harbinger Capital Partners voluntarily resigned on June 12, according to a letter filed with the Federal Communications Commission and posted on the agency’s website. Falcone had been fighting to keep control of the company throughout its two years in bankruptcy. At one point, Dish Network Corp. Chairman Charles Ergen made a $2.22 billion offer for its assets, only to withdraw the bid at the last minute. Falcone accused Ergen of acquiring LightSquared debt improperly to game the bankruptcy process. Bankruptcy Judge Shelley Chapman rejected a Falcone-backed reorganization plan in May, saying that it was largely unfair to Ergen, while she also faulted Ergen’s behavior during the case. Since then, LightSquared and its creditors have entered court-supervised mediation to work out a new plan.

Kodak Trustee Sues Altek Corp. to Recover 49.2 Million

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The trustee appointed in Eastman Kodak Co.’s bankruptcy sued to recover payments of about $49.2 million that were made to Altek Corp. in the 90 days before the photography pioneer’s chapter 11 filing, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. Alan Halperin, acting on behalf of a trust created to liquidate some assets, is seeking to claw back any transfers made “to and for the benefit of” Altek, a Taiwan-based maker of digital cameras, according to a filing today in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan. Kodak filed for bankruptcy in January 2012 after spending $3.4 billion on earlier attempts to turn its business around. By then, it had shed 47,000 employees since 2003, closed 13 factories that made film, paper and chemicals, and shut 130 photo laboratories.

Energy Future Sued over Payment on 2.2 Billion of Loans

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Energy Future Holdings Corp., which has fought creditors over a proposed refinancing since its April bankruptcy filing, was sued by a trustee demanding a payment for holders of $2.2 billion in notes, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. Computershare Trust Co., the trustee, said Dallas-based Energy Future owes the junior lenders compensation for buying back the high-interest securities early, according to a court filing yesterday. The trustee accused Energy Future of trying to pull off in bankruptcy “what it could not accomplish outside of bankruptcy — refinancing the second-lien notes at lower interest rates without paying the redemption premium.” Energy Future is trying to exchange costly loans for lower-interest borrowings under an agreement struck with some creditors to reduce the debt load from its record $48 billion leveraged buyout in 2007. Creditors who didn’t sign up for the deal are fighting over special payments going to those that did, as well as redemption fees that they say they are due.

PSL Units File for Bankruptcy with Plan to Sell Assets

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The U.S. and North American units of PSL Ltd., an Indian steel-pipe maker for the oil and gas industry, sought bankruptcy protection with a plan to sell assets to Jindal Tubular USA LLC for about $100 million, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. PSL-North America LLC and PSL USA Inc., based in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, each listed assets of more than $50 million and debt of about $130 million in chapter 11 documents filed yesterday. PSL USA, which owns 83 percent of PSL NA, agreed to sell virtually all its assets to Jindal in a deal valued at about $100 million, according to court documents. That offer will set the floor for competing bidders at a court-authorized auction.

Glacial Energy Settlement Sale Receive Judges Approval

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Glacial Energy Holdings Inc., a privately held electric company that operates in more than 20 states, received a judge's approval Monday to move forward with a sale and settlement meant to ensure its chapter 11 case will proceed without delays or additional litigation, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported today. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Sontchi overruled an objection from a Justice Department representative and signed off on a key settlement between Glacial Energy, its unsecured creditors and its senior lender. Judge Sontchi also authorized the sale of Glacial's assets to Platinum Partners Value Arbitrage Fund LP for $32.8 million plus assumed liabilities and some adjustments.

GMs Recall Tally Hits 20 Million with New Ignition Fix

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General Motors Co. said that the engineer responsible for flawed ignitions linked to 13 deaths also oversaw switches in more than 3 million cars recalled yesterday, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. The recall covers seven different models and involved ignitions slipping out of the “run” position, like the action that covered 2.59 million small cars earlier this year. While the newly recalled vehicles have a different switch, they shared the same design release engineer. Ray DeGiorgio was named in an internal report released this month as being responsible for the faulty ignition switch in Chevrolet Cobalts and Saturn Ions recalled in February. He and 14 other people were ousted by Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra for their roles in the company’s mishandling and years-long delay in recalling the fatally flawed vehicles. GM yesterday called back 3.36 million more vehicles, including some Chevrolet Impalas and Cadillac Devilles, just two days before Barra returns to Congress to answer questions about why the company waited years to fix the Cobalt and Ion. GM said that its second-quarter charges to cover its safety actions would reach $700 million.

Quebec seeks C409 Million from Rail Operator for Lac-Megantic disaster

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The Quebec government said yesterday that it was seeking some C$409 million ($377 million) from Montreal, Maine and Atlantic, the insolvent rail operator at the center of the rail disaster in the town of Lac-Megantic last year, Reuters reported yesterday. The claim is the latest in a growing list against the rail operator and other companies involved in the train shipment of oil from the Bakken fields that derailed and exploded, killing 47 people in the small Quebec town. The government, which filed its claim with court officials handling the claims process, said C$126 million was for funds already spent, while the remainder was for expenses it expected to incur. The government said that the size of its claim may be revised upward, once all its expenses were determined.

Bankruptcy Judge to Review Winning Auction Bid for Glacial Energy

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A bankruptcy judge today could clear Platinum Partners Value Arbitrage Fund LP to take over struggling Glacial Energy Holdings Inc. after winning a bankruptcy auction earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. The value of Platinum Partners’ winning offer hasn’t been disclosed in documents filed to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del. Throughout the case, Glacial Energy was able to spend a $122 million bankruptcy loan from a senior lender, which had also offered to purchase Glacial Energy out of bankruptcy but lost at auction. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Sontchi needs to approve the Platinum Partners deal before it can close.

New Orleans Chef Puts Businesses into Bankruptcy

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A New Orleans chef whose beloved restaurants rode out Hurricane Katrina put a handful of his business ventures into bankruptcy on Thursday, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. Scott Boswell, the originator of the casual restaurant Stanley and the recently closed fine-dining restaurant Stella!, signed the chapter 11 petitions of four companies that sought protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New Orleans. The businesses are Stanley of New Orleans LLC, Scott Boswell Enterprises LLC, The Paint Factory LLC and The New World Labor Force LLC. Together, the businesses manage and operate Stanley and, until recently, Stella! and employ about 120 people. Court papers show that the companies aim to continue operating during the chapter 11 restructuring.

Momentive to Revise Plan Outline After U.S. Trustee Objects

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Momentive Performance Materials Inc. will likely revise its restructuring plan outline after a federal bankruptcy watchdog called it "woefully inadequate,” Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported today. According to court papers filed by the watchdog, U.S. Trustee William K. Harrington, Momentive's current disclosure statement omits crucial information that creditors need to cast informed votes on the company's restructuring plan. Harrington said that the company's bankruptcy lawyers have told him they'll file a revised disclosure statement that addresses his concerns, but he still took the defensive step of filing an objection Thursday should those revisions not be sufficient.