Skip to main content

%1

EPA Approves Kodak Cleanup Trust Fund

Submitted by webadmin on

Federal officials have signed off on a deal creating an independent trust to fund and oversee ongoing environmental cleanup at Eastman Business Park, the Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat & Chronicle reported today. The fund will contain $49 million provided by Eastman Kodak Co., with an additional $50 million in New York state money available if needed to pay for environmental study and remedial work at the sprawling business park in Rochester and Greece. Creation of the environmental trust was an element of Kodak's plan to emerge from chapter 11 bankruptcy last year.

Shareholders Challenge Overseas Shipholding Chapter 11 Deal

Submitted by webadmin on

Shareholders say they are entitled to a bigger piece of Overseas Shipholding Group than they are being offered as one of the world's largest tanker operators prepares to leave bankruptcy, and they have turned to the courts for help, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported today. Two groups of investors filed protests in court on Wednesday. According to shareholders, Overseas Shipholding is advancing a "flawed" restructuring strategy while ignoring shareholder-backed turnaround proposals.

Quiznos Moves Toward Bankruptcy Filing

Submitted by webadmin on

Sandwich chain Quiznos is preparing to file for bankruptcy-court protection within weeks as it contends with unhappy franchisees and a $570 million debt load, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Quiznos has been negotiating with creditors for weeks on a restructuring plan that would streamline its trip through bankruptcy court, but a deal hasn't yet been reached. The chain's move toward bankruptcy comes two years into a major turnaround effort that included an out-of-court debt restructuring and a management shake-up. While a chapter 11 filing would give the company much-needed flexibility on leases and unattractive contracts, the company must repair its damaged relationship with franchise owners who say they're being squeezed out of business by the high cost of operating a Quiznos outlet.

SAP Founder Drops Lehman Appeal

Submitted by webadmin on

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. has reached a deal with the lone holdout to a multibillion-dollar settlement with its former Swiss derivatives unit, freeing up another $1.8 billion for the failed investment bank's creditors, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Entities with ties to Klaus Tschira, the founder of German software company SAP AG, have agreed to drop their appeal of Lehman's settlement with its Swiss derivatives subsidiary, Lehman Brothers Finance AG, according to court papers filed on Wednesday. Tschira has been fighting for years with the Swiss subsidiary over derivatives contracts terminated after Lehman's 2008 collapse. His decision to drop his appeal brings to a close more than five years of highly contentious litigation between Lehman's New York-based holding company and the Swiss hub of its global equity derivatives business.

Healthcare Finance Group to Provide DIP Loan to Restora Healthcare

Submitted by webadmin on

Restora Healthcare, an operator of two long-term acute care hospitals and skilled nursing facilities in Phoenix, announced it has filed for chapter 11 protection to recapitalize and reorganize its business, the ABL Advisor reported yesterday. Restora’s secured lender, Healthcare Finance Group will continue its support of Restora with court-approved funding for Restora’s payroll, suppliers, staff physicians and others during the bankruptcy. Restora’s current revenue-cycle management firm, Acuity Healthcare, has agreed to invest new capital in the business and has been contracted to provide management services upon emergence from the reorganization process.

Edison International Swings to Profit Despite Revenue Drop

Submitted by webadmin on

Edison International swung to a fourth-quarter profit as the year-earlier period included larger losses from discontinued operations, masking a drop in revenue, Dow Jones Newswires reported yesterday. The company in October agreed to sell its Edison Mission Energy business, which filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2012, to NRG Energy Inc. Bondholders supported the $2.6 billion deal, and a bankruptcy judge approved bidder protections, including a $65 million breakup fee, to NRG as it works to close its offer to take Edison Mission out of bankruptcy this year. In the third quarter, the company reported Edison Mission's results as noncore, discontinued operations. Overall, Edison International reported a profit of $326 million, or 92 cents a share, compared to a year-earlier loss of $514 million.

Suntech Power Files for Chapter 15 Protection

Submitted by webadmin on

Suntech Power Holdings Co. filed for chapter 15 protection on Friday in an attempt to stop some bondholders from interfering with professionals who are trying to turn Suntech from the world's former largest solar-panel maker into a seller of solar products, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported today. The filing blocks some unpaid bondholders — part of a group owed about $540 million — from forcing the company into liquidation in a U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

Chrysler Loses Bid in Bankruptcy Tax-Refund Quest

Submitted by webadmin on

Chrysler Group lost a bid in bankruptcy court to recover an alleged $50 million overpayment of state unemployment insurance premiums, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. Michigan, Illinois and Indiana base an employer's unemployment insurance taxes on the number of claims the company was responsible for causing in the three preceding years. Chrysler has been controlled by Italy's Fiat S.p.A. since its 2009 bankruptcy and Fiat gained full ownership of the U.S. automaker this year. Chrysler Group, or New Chrysler, asked a bankruptcy court to declare that the sale-approval order barred the states from using the so-called experience rating of the old Chrysler, or Old Carco LLC. In an opinion last week, Bankruptcy Judge Stuart Bernstein said that the federal Tax Injunction Act deprived him of the authority to decide the dispute. That statute bars a federal court from preventing the collection of state taxes so long as there is a "speedy and efficient" state-court procedure to challenge the levy, the judge said.

Judge Rules that Ergen Cannot Stop LightSquared Bankruptcy Exit Plan from Advancing

Submitted by webadmin on

Bankruptcy Judge Shelley Chapman ruled yesterday that wireless venture LightSquared can move forward with a restructuring proposal over the objections of its biggest creditor, Dish Network Corp Chairman Charles Ergen, Reuters reported yesterday. Judge Chapman approved the framework of a plan at a hearing yesterday, which means LightSquared can lobby creditors to support its plan before a hearing on final confirmation next month. Ergen contends that the plan would treat his claims unfairly, while LightSquared has argued in a separate lawsuit that Ergen built up his debt position illegally and that it should be reduced or wiped out. Judge Chapman ruled the debate should be left until the confirmation stage. A final confirmation hearing is due to begin on March 17. Closing arguments in the lawsuit against Ergen are set for March 12.

Railroad to Emerge from Bankruptcy with New Name

Submitted by webadmin on

The Maine-based railroad responsible for a fiery derailment that killed 47 people in Quebec in July is getting a new name, the Associated Press reported on Saturday. The company buying the railroad plans to change the name of Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway to Central Maine and Quebec Railway. Railroad Acquisition Holdings, a subsidiary of New York-based Fortress Investment Group, had the winning bid for the bankrupt railroad, which owns about 500 miles of track in Maine, Vermont and Canada. The deal is on course to close by the end of next month, said chapter 11 trustee Robert Keach. Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway filed for bankruptcy after an unattended train with 72 oil tankers derailed and exploded in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, in July, destroying 40 buildings, including a busy bar where many of the victims perished. The railroad blamed a worker for failing to set enough brakes, allowing the train to begin rolling toward the lakeside town of 6,000.