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W.R. Grace & Co. projected that it could complete its reorganization by the end of 2013 if it received positive outcomes regarding pending appeals of the order confirming its reorganization plan, the Deal Pipeline reported yesterday. Five appeals are pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. The appeals generally deal with proposed interest rates, the validity of asbestos channeling injunctions and the classification of claims. W.R. Grace anticipates presenting oral arguments to the court in the first quarter of 2013 and receiving a ruling in the third quarter. Should the court rule in W.R. Grace's favor, the Columbia, Md., company would exit bankruptcy by the end of next year, more than 12 years after filing for chapter 11 on April 2, 2001.

Tennessee restaurant chain Back Yard Burgers Inc. has filed a plan to exit chapter 11 protection under the control of its lender, private equity firm Pharos Capital Group LLC, Dow Jones DBR Small Cap reported today. In court papers filed on Wednesday, Back Yard said that Pharos and its affiliates would get 100 percent of the reorganized company's equity in exchange for providing $2.9 million in financing to keep the company afloat during the chapter 11 case.

Two Republican senators asked U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner yesterday for a thorough review of a Chinese company's plan to acquire bankrupt battery maker A123, saying that military and taxpayer-funded technology must be protected, Reuters reported yesterday. China's Wanxiang Group Corp is currently locked in a battle with U.S.-based Johnson Controls Inc to buy A123, which makes lithium ion batteries for electric cars. A123 also had two contracts worth a total of more than $4 million to develop batteries for the Air Force, one of which is still ongoing, an Air Force official said. Senators John Thune (R-S.D.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said the powerful Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS), led by Geithner, should review the transaction to make sure U.S. military and taxpayer interests in A123 are protected. To acquire A123, Wanxiang needs approval from the Chinese government and from CFIUS, a U.S. inter-agency panel that vets foreign deals for security concerns.

Aerospace manufacturer Hawker Beechcraft Inc. on Monday unveiled a bankruptcy exit plan that would give control of the company to secured creditors after a proposed sale to a Chinese firm fell through, Reuters reported yesterday. The Wichita, Kansas-based firm filed a disclosure statement in Manhattan bankruptcy court revealing plans to hand 81.1 percent of its new equity to senior lenders, which include Angelo Gordon & Co, Centerbridge Partners, Sankaty Advisors and Capital Research & Management. The rest of the equity would go to senior and junior noteholders, according to the filing.

TerreStar Corp. won court approval of a chapter 11 plan that hands ownership of the mobile-telecommunications company to several investors that specialize in distressed debt, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review. Bankruptcy Judge Sean H. Lane on Wednesday confirmed TerreStar's chapter 11 reorganization plan. The ruling paves the way for the company to exit bankruptcy protection under the ownership of such shareholders as hedge-fund managers Highland Capital Management, Solus Alternative Asset Management and West Face Capital. Each will have a seat on TerreStar's new board. The investors are among TerreStar's preferred shareholders, whose old shares will be canceled in favor of new common shares in the restructured company. They are among lenders behind a bankruptcy-exit loan of up to $27.5 million.

The owner of the Reno, Nev., Silver Legacy Resort and Casino received bankruptcy-court approval of its chapter 11 restructuring plan, which will allow the casino to emerge from bankruptcy within weeks, Dow Jones DBR Small Cap reported today. The plan confirmation, filed on Tuesday, comes after majority noteholder Black Diamond Capital Management agreed to support the plan, under threat of having its vote disqualified completely.

Solyndra, the solar panel maker that failed despite a $528 million federal loan, won court approval yesterday for its plan to repay creditors and end its politically charged bankruptcy after a judge overruled objections by the U.S. government, Reuters reported. Bankruptcy Judge Mary Walrath rejected the government argument that the plan was improper because its main purpose was to provide tax breaks. Venture capital firms Argonaut Private Equity and Madrone Capital Partners will control Solyndra's tax breaks, known as net operating losses (NOLs) that are potentially worth $341 million after the bankruptcy. "It is clear in this case the bankruptcy and the reorganization dealt with many other things than the value of the NOLs or the preservation of the NOLs," Judge Walrath said.

AMR Corp.'s American Airlines, which has agreed to share financial information with suitor US Airways Group Inc., is seeking a one-month extension of a deadline for filing a plan to restructure and exit bankruptcy, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. American, which faces a Dec. 28 deadline to submit the plan in court, asked for an extension to Jan. 28 in a filing today in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan. The request is supported by the committee representing unsecured creditors.

Bankrupt solar power company Solyndra LLC is asking a bankruptcy judge to confirm its proposed reorganization plan over objections from government attorneys, the Associated Press reported yesterday. Solyndra lawyers said yesterday in court documents that the plan meets legal requirements for confirmation. Lawyers also addressed and rejected Internal Revenue Service and Department of Energy objections. The IRS had previously said in court documents that the plan's principal purpose is tax avoidance. The Department of Energy, which loaned Solyndra $528 million, claimed that the plan fails to protect DOE's $30 million interest in pre-bankruptcy collateral. The plan allows for two private equity funds that control Solyndra to potentially reap hundreds of millions of dollars in tax breaks after Solyndra emerges from bankruptcy, using net operating losses. The hearing on the plan is set for tomorrow.

Eastman Kodak Co. said Wednesday that it has asked a bankruptcy court judge to allow it to end retiree medical and some other benefits at the end of the year as part of its restructuring, The Associated Press reported yesterday. The company said it reached an agreement with the court-appointed committee of retirees to pay a total of $650 million in claims and $7.5 million in cash into a fund that could be used for future payments in exchange for eliminating its current $1.2 billion liability for medical, dental, life insurance and survivor income benefits. A company spokesman said pensions would not be affected, adding that the other benefits cost about $10 million monthly and the change is essential to emerging successfully from chapter 11 protection. A hearing on the agreement has been scheduled for Oct. 29.