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Device-Maker HEI Inc. Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

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HEI Inc. filed for chapter 11 protection on Sunday after declining sales triggered a review of strategic options for its business, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported today. A developer and manufacturer of microelectronics, substrates, electromechanical hardware and embedded software for the medical, telecommunications, military, aerospace and industrial markets, the Minneapolis-based company estimated its debts and assets at between $10 million and $50 million. Court papers said that the company will be seeking expedited consideration of motions that will allow it to continue its business while in bankruptcy.

Revel Wins Approval of Backup Sale as Buyer Weighs Options

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Revel AC Inc. won bankruptcy court approval to sell its shuttered Atlantic City, N.J., casino to the original bidder for $95.4 million, after an earlier sale at a higher price fell apart, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. Bankruptcy Judge Gloria Burns said that she will enter an order authorizing the sale to Florida real estate investor Glenn Straub’s Polo North Country Club Inc. The company and Straub will have 30 days to close the deal once the order is entered. Revel was one of four casinos that closed last year after New Jersey’s gambling center saw its dominance fade amid growing competition from game rooms in neighboring states. Casino revenue in Atlantic City fell more than 40 percent to about $2.8 billion in 2013 from a peak of more than $5 billion in 2006. The company received court approval to scrap a $110 million sale to Brookfield Property Partners LP, the winner at auction. Brookfield walked away from the deal because it couldn’t arrange a cut in its electric bill. The casino owner turned to Straub, who came in second at the auction with a final offer of $95.4 million. The backup plan may not pan out either, as Straub has sought to lower the price.

LightSquared Offers Restructuring Backers 200 Million Breakup Fee

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LightSquared is seeking to pay a $200 million breakup fee to the backers of its restructuring, including Fortress Investment Group LLC, in case the mobile satellite company’s chapter 11 exit doesn’t pan out as planned, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. LightSquared said in a Wednesday bankruptcy court filing that Fortress would get nearly half the $200 million, payable only if LightSquared opts for an alternative restructuring proposal. Two other backers of the plan, Centerbridge Partners LP and Sig Holdings Inc., would get the rest. Philip Falcone’s Harbinger Capital Partners, which currently controls LightSquared’s equity and is investing new money in the restructuring, wouldn’t get any of the breakup fee.

Lehman Brokerage Trustee Pimco Settle U.S. Bankruptcy Claims

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The trustee liquidating Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.’s brokerage unit has agreed with Pacific Investment Management Co. unit to resolve $187.4 million of the money management firm's customer claims, likely at a fraction of their estimated value, Reuters reported on Friday. According to papers filed on Wednesday in bankruptcy court, Pimco will no longer be able to pursue customer claims, and will instead receive $146.6 million of general unsecured creditor claims against the brokerage, Lehman Brothers Inc. The brokerage's estate would pay up to $20 million of cash on the claims, and $25.6 million of disputed collateral would be returned to Pimco clients. Another $4.9 million of collateral would be returned to the brokerage's estate.

Syms and Filenes Successor Lines Up 50 Million in Financing

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The successor company to bankrupt clothing retailers Syms Corp. and Filene's Basement has struck a deal for up to $50 million in financing to pay off its remaining creditors, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported today. Trinity Place Holdings Inc. emerged from the ashes of Syms's and Filene's chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2012. Sterling National Bank and Israel Discount Bank of New York are providing an initial $40 million loan with the option for another $10 million.

Bodybuilders Supplement Company Sold Out of Bankruptcy

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A New Jersey company that makes protein powders and other muscle-building mixes has been sold out of bankruptcy for $10.1 million, the Wall Street Journal reported today. An affiliate of the U.K.-based Body Temple Ltd. won a heated auction for the nutritional supplement company built by ex-professional bodybuilder Rich Gaspari. The company, Gaspari Nutrition Inc., filed for bankruptcy on Oct. 14 after a slump in demand for its products, which sell online and at retailers like Vitamin Shoppe. The deal closed on Dec. 23, according to documents filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Trenton, N.J. Gaspari no longer owns the company but is expected to stay on staff. Annual sales for Gaspari Nutrition’s muscle-building formulas like “Aminolast,” “Super Pump,” and “MyoFusion Advanced” have fallen from a peak of $78 million in 2011, according to earlier court papers.

Judge Rejects Fraud Appeal by Le-Natures Former CEO

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A federal judge has rejected an attempt by the former head of defunct soft-drink company Le-Nature’s to withdraw his guilty plea in an $875 million accounting fraud for which he’s serving 20 years in prison, the Associated Press reported on Wednesday. Gregory Podlucky had claimed that he was misled by prosecutors and not properly represented by his attorney when he pleaded guilty to the fraud and underlying money laundering counts in October 2011. Podlucky contends the plea agreement has been nullified because the government has so far refused to return $934,000 worth of jewels that were seized from him, which he contends weren’t related to the fraud. Senior U.S. District Judge Alan Bloch, in a ruling issued on Monday, said that Podlucky can still pursue those assets — which were among more than $30 million in valuables seized by the government to repay creditors — but that his appeal is otherwise baseless.

Another Key Deal Reached in Howrey Bankruptcy

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In the latest settlement struck by Howrey trustee Allan Diamond, a group of former Howrey leaders and a law firm that initially advised the defunct firm on its bankruptcy have agreed to pay $1.85 million, the Wall Street Journal reported today. The deal will see Wiley Rein LLP (whose restructuring lawyers are, in an unrelated development, separating from the firm) contribute $1 million to Howrey’s coffers, according to documents filed Monday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in San Francisco. It will also see the firm’s onetime dissolution committee, including former chairman Robert Ruyak, chip in another $850,000. The result of more than a year of negotiations, the settlement still requires a court’s approval.

GT Says Executive Bonuses Will Drive Bankruptcy Survival Bid

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The New Hampshire company that fell into bankruptcy following a failed deal with Apple Inc. is asking to pay millions in bonuses to its senior executives, the Wall Street Journal reported today. GT Advanced Technologies Inc. says it needs to keep the identities of those in line for bonuses secret to keep its business from being damaged. Less than a year after announcing it would transform itself from a solar-power and sapphire-producing-equipment maker to a maker of smartphone screen material for Apple, GT filed for chapter 11 protection, blaming Apple. Apple has denied it was responsible for GT’s collapse. Pay enhancement is necessary to motivate “the key drivers” in GT’s bid to restore its business in bankruptcy, lawyers said. Court filings outlining the bonus proposal say that GT’s stock, once a major component of executive compensation, is no longer good for motivating performance by company leaders.

Tengion Files for Bankruptcy Protection

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Tengion Inc.’s struggle to stay afloat ended today when the Winston-Salem, N.C.-based regenerative-medicine company filed for voluntary chapter 7 bankruptcy protection, the Winston-Salem Journal reported today. The company said in a regulatory filing that a bankruptcy trustee will be appointed by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court and will be in charge of liquidating the company’s assets — namely its research for kidney and bladder regeneration. Tengion cut back drastically on expenses over the past three years, including eliminating 30 of its 52 jobs in November 2011. It was not clear how many full-time employees remained. The company warned in its third-quarter earnings report Nov. 14 that it had just $5.7 million remaining in cash, and funding options appeared increasingly limited.