%1

A Colorado wolf sanctuary filed for bankruptcy, blaming the devastation from the High Park wildfire that scorched roughly a third of the 162-acre property where its 30 wolves roam, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Sanctuary officials had to leave the nonprofit’s LaPorte, Colo., property for nearly a month after the fire broke out in June 2012, said W.O.L.F. Sanctuary (Wolves Offered Life & Friendship) executive director Shelley J. Coldiron. The fire—one of the worst in the state’s history—burned about 87,000 acres and destroyed more than 250 homes. The sanctuary lost several sheds and storage facilities to the blaze and is still fighting an insurer to pay for $60,000 to cover the damage.

Freefall Adventures' recently filed for chapter 11 protection, Philly.com reported yesterday. The company, which operates out of Cross Keys Airport in Monroe Township, N.J., is a mainstay in the regional skydiving community, though it has also gained attention over the years for accidents and fatalities, risks commonly associated with the sport. In August, the company's owners, John and Agnes Eddowes, also filed for chapter 13 bankruptcy. The personal bankruptcy documents indicate assets totaling about $6.4 million, with total liabilities of approximately $2.4 million. Freefall's Oct. 2 filing lists assets under $50,000 and liabilities of more than $1 million up to $10 million.

Endeavour International Corp., a Houston-based oil and gas company, filed for bankruptcy protection on Friday as part of a debt-for-equity swap with bondholders that will slash about $568 million in debt off the company's books, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported today. The chapter 11 filing comes after the company reached the terms of a restructuring pact with more than two-thirds of its bondholders, court papers said. The company has been negotiating with its bondholders for months, with the latest round of talks taking on renewed urgency after Endeavour skipped a $33.5 million interest payment on Sept. 2.

Alco Stores Inc. filed for chapter 11 protection yesterday with plans to liquidate or sell the 113-year-old retail operation, the Wall Street Journal reported today. The filing came not long after the board of directors was replaced as the result of a proxy fight that saw shareholders clamoring for improved results at Alco, which operates 198 discount general merchandise stores in 23 states. In court papers, Alco blamed the effects of the “lingering economic slowdown” on its customers, many of whom are living on fixed or low incomes in rural areas. While it has positioned its stores to avoid head-to-head competition with larger discount chains, Alco said it couldn’t escape the effects of economic distress in the U.S. The bankruptcy filing puts about 3,000 jobs on the line, most of them in stores in areas of Texas, Kansas, Colorado and other states, located in small communities and sparsely populated regions. Alco has lined up a stalking-horse liquidation bid from a joint venture made up of Tiger Capital Group, LLC, SB Capital Group, LLC, and Great American Group WF, LLC, court papers say.

Apple Inc. supplier GT Advanced Technologies Inc. asked a U.S. bankruptcy court to keep under seal some key documents relating to a third-party, saying this would allow it to avoid paying damages under confidentiality agreements, Reuters reported yesterday. GT Advanced did not disclose the identity of the third-party or the nature of the potential contract violations. In a filing today with the U.S. bankruptcy court in New Hampshire, the company also requested a private hearing to deal with its request. The first hearing of GT Advanced's chapter 11 bankruptcy is scheduled for today at 10 a.m. ET.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/09/gt-advanced-bankruptcy-hearin…

In related news, Apple Inc. said yesterday that it was surprised by supplier GT Advanced Technologies Inc.’s bankruptcy filing this week, and is now considering its next steps, Reuters reported yesterday. GT Advanced, slated to supply scratch-resistant sapphire displays from a new Arizona factory Apple is helping bankroll, filed for bankruptcy on Monday but has offered little explanation as to why.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/08/apple-gt-advanced-tech-idUSL2…

GT Advanced Technologies Inc., Apple Inc.’s partner in a sapphire glass plant in Arizona, will hold its first chapter 11 bankruptcy court hearing on Thursday at 10 a.m. ET, Reuters reported yesterday. Investors are eagerly anticipating the hearing, at which GT has said that it will explain the events that led to Monday's surprise bankruptcy filing, which sparked a 90 percent drop in the company's stock.

Chemical company Reichhold Inc. filed for chapter 11 protection yesterday after securing a pledge from its bondholders to fund its operations and purchase its business, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported today. The maker of resins used in a variety of industries said bondholders have pledged $130 million in financing, of which $100 million will be a debtor-in-possession loan, to fund the company's continuing operations during the chapter 11 case. Bondholders have also agreed to serve as stalking-horse bidder in a court-overseen auction of Reichhold's U.S. business.

The operator of the Indiana Toll Road, owned by affiliates of Macquarie Group Ltd. and Ferrovial SA, sought bankruptcy protection with a creditor-supported restructuring plan after dwindling traffic soured a $3.8 billion bet on a 75-year lease, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. The company listed assets and liabilities of more than $1 billion each in its chapter 11 filing yesterday in Chicago bankruptcy court. The company has an estimated $6.3 billion in secured obligations when including projected amounts of interest through next August, according to court papers. The Indiana road company isn’t the first to seek creditor protection since the financial crisis as operators of the South Bay Expressway, a 10-mile toll road near San Diego, and the 16-mile Southern Connector in Greenville County, South Carolina, each filed for bankruptcy in 2010 after experiencing low traffic. The case is In re ITR Concessions Co. LLC, 14-34284, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Northern District Illinois (Chicago).

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.

NII Holdings Inc, the parent of Nextel operators in Latin America, filed for chapter 11 protection yesterday after struggling for years with debt, fierce competition in Brazil and Mexico, and a dispute with a U.S. hedge fund, Reuters reported yesterday. The decision should allow Reston, Va.-based NII Holdings to restructure debt with creditors by turning them into shareholders. NII Holdings operates in several countries in Latin America under the Nextel brand. NII said in court documents that it had received a notice in March from Aurelius Capital Management alleging that it had defaulted on $500 million of unsecured notes. Aurelius said that it had presented a plan to NII that would convert the company's debt into equity and raise fresh capital by selling new stock in the company, while deferring some disputes until after NII emerged from bankruptcy.