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Kid Brands Files Bankruptcy with Plan to Sell Business

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Kid Brands Inc., which designs and makes infant bedding, furniture and toys sold under brands including Carters and Graco, filed for bankruptcy protection with a plan to sell its assets, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. The East Rutherford, N.J.-based company listed assets of $32.4 million and debt of $109.2 million in chapter 11 papers filed on Wednesday. The board’s decision to sell “is in the best interests of the company and its stakeholders” and followed a review of strategic and financing alternatives, Kid Brands said today in a statement. Kid Brands will seek approval of $49 million in debtor-in-possession financing from existing lenders Salus Capital Partners LLC and Sterling National Bank so it can continue to operate in bankruptcy, according to the statement. Units that sought court protection were Kids Line LLC, LaJobi Inc., Sassy Inc. and CoCaLo Inc. Affiliates I&J HoldCo Inc. and RB Trademark Holdco LLC also filed. The case is In re Kid Brands Inc., 14-bk-22582, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of New Jersey (Newark).

Brooklyn Prep School Enters Chapter 11 Protection

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A Brooklyn prep school filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy on Monday, facing declining enrollment that it says stems from negative publicity about a 2008 foreclosure action, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Adelphi Academy of Brooklyn said that it filed for bankruptcy because it’s been unable to operate profitably after enrollment dropped following 2008 news reports of a foreclosure by its lender, Metropolitan National Bank, which holds a $6.2 million note, according to court documents. The school said that while it disputes the “technical default” that caused Metropolitan to take action against it, “the resulting negative publicity significantly impacted the debtor’s reputation and resources and despite continued efforts, its student enrollment declined.” Current enrollment is at 100 students, according to court documents.

GlassHouse Technologies Files for Bankruptcy

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Southborough, Mass.-based data center services provider GlassHouse Technologies, poised to go public just a few years ago, has filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy, the Boston Globe reported today. The filing comes two months after GlassHouse sold its consulting division to Phoenix-based Signature Technology Group. In court documents, the company listed debts between $50 million and $100 million, owed to nearly 100 parties, and assets of less than $1 million. In the United Kingdom, a GlassHouse subsidiary owes money to that country’s customs and tax agency, according to British news reports.

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.

Mattress Source Files for Bankruptcy Closing Some Stores

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Mattress Source, an independent chain of more than a dozen stores in the Midwest, has filed for bankruptcy and will shutter some unprofitable locations, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported today. St. Louis-based Jamat LLC, which does business as the Mattress Source, filed for chapter 11 protection on Friday. It has 13 local stores in Missouri and Illinois. In its filing, the chain said that both its assets and estimated liabilities range between $1 million and $10 million.

Aramid Entertainment Fund Files for Bankruptcy over Suits

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Aramid Entertainment Fund Ltd., a hedge fund specializing in financing movies, sought bankruptcy court protection from creditors to deal with the costs of suing borrowers who failed to repay loans, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. Aramid “has been embroiled in substantial and time-consuming litigation relating to some of its investments,” Geoffrey Varga, a consultant helping to liquidate the fund, said in court filings. “The prosecution and defense of these actions has consumed a substantial portion of AEF’s liquidity and exposes it to potential liability.” The fund offers financing to film and television producers and distributors “secured against a variety of assets,” according to its website. Those assets include films and equipment. Aramid listed consolidated book-value assets of $237.3 million and consolidated debt of $11.5 million as of April 29 in chapter 11 documents filed on Friday.

Supplement Maker Natrol Seeks Bankruptcy in Wake of Class Actions

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Natrol Inc. filed for bankruptcy yesterday, a day after a U.S. judicial panel consolidated several class actions accusing the health supplement maker of false marketing of its joint relief products, Reuters reported yesterday. Natrol, a unit of Plethico Pharmaceuticals Ltd. of India, also owns the Laci Le Beau dieter's teas, NuHair and Shen Min hair loss treatments and MRI and Prolab strength supplements. Natrol has been the target in the past year of at least three lawsuits seeking class action status filed in California, Illinois and New York federal courts. The lawsuits say that Natrol's glucosamine-related supplements cannot provide the advertised benefits of regenerating cartilage, lubricating joints and providing comfort, according to court documents.

Olive Importer Files for Bankruptcy to Avoid Class Action

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A Long Island olive importer is asking a bankruptcy judge to decide how much it owes customers for allegedly selling processed olive oil as pure, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Kangadis Food Inc., which is fighting claims that it improperly marketed a chemically treated olive byproduct as “100 percent pure olive oil,” recently sought bankruptcy protection in an attempt to put the brakes on a class-action suit over the alleged mislabeling. The family-owned company filed for chapter 11 Friday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Central Islip, New York, saying that the approximately $1.4 million in legal fees it has racked up over the past year and a half have hurt what is otherwise a profitable business. The goal of the filing, according to Kangadis Food’s bankruptcy lawyer, is to avoid paying an estimated $750,000 to $1 million more to defend itself in a class-action suit scheduled to go to trial in September.

Sears Methodist Retirement System Seeks Bankruptcy Protection

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Sears Methodist Retirement System Inc. filed for chapter 11 protection on Tuesday to deal with some $160 million worth of funded debt obligations attached to its operations, which include senior living communities and homes for veterans, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported today. The Texas nonprofit organization is asking the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Dallas to authorize it to quickly borrow $600,000 from existing bondholders, warning that it would be forced to cease operations without access to the funds.

New Century Transportation Files for Bankruptcy

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Trucking company New Century Transportation is shutting down and filing for chapter 7 liquidation, TruckingInfo.com reported yesterday. A copy of a June 9 letter to employees from the New Jersey-based carrier and obtained by TruckingInfo.com says that the decision came when its lender “unexpectedly declined to continue funding regular business operations.” It goes on to say New Century then “immediately took steps to seek financing and other alternatives including a sale of all or part of the company, in order to continue operations, but to date, its efforts have been unsuccessful.” The letter also states advance warning about the bankruptcy to employees was not possible any sooner because New Century says that it would have precluded its ability to secure alternative financing or a sale of the company. The Westampton, N.J.-based carrier specialized in both truckload and less-than-truckload services with a fleet of 2,000 trucks, according to its website. The bankruptcy reportedly puts some 1,500 people out of work.