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Judge Robert Gerber of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan on Thursday said he would sign off on the publisher's plan and plan outline during a joint hearing that paves the way for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Co. to revamp its balance sheet exactly one month after seeking chapter 11 protection, Fox Business News reported yesterday. He also sided with a federal bankruptcy watchdog who sought to have the case transferred from a New York court; the company can move forward with its confirmation, but it will have to transfer the case either on the date the plan becomes effective or three weeks after his confirmation order is entered, whichever comes first. The timing is a strategic move meant to prevent the transfer from disrupting the company's restructuring efforts; Houghton Mifflin and its creditors had warned that moving the case from New York before the plan was confirmed could put its $500 million financing package in jeopardy. Houghton Mifflin sought bankruptcy last month after striking a deal with key creditors that laid out the terms of the restructuring plan and directed the company to file in New York.

Bankruptcy Judge Eric L. Frank said in a court hearing yesterday that he would approve a timeline to bring the Philadelphia Orchestra Association before the court again on June 28 for a confirmation hearing on the orchestra's reorganization plan, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported today. Because of the "aggressive scheduling," Judge Frank said that any objections to the orchestra's reorganization plan would have to be heard at the confirmation hearing, which could take a day or two. The judge, after reviewing a list of procedural concerns, said he was approving the quicker-than-usual schedule in recognition of the case's notoriety, suggesting that any interested parties were already aware of the bankruptcy. Ballots approving or objecting the plan are being sent to creditors and are due back by June 26.

Tribune Co., the biggest newspaper publisher in bankruptcy, may learn by early July whether it has won the first of two rulings it needs to leave bankruptcy this year, Bloomberg News reported on Friday. Should the judge overseeing the case approve the company’s reorganization plan by early July, Tribune may be able to exit bankruptcy by August, or by the end of the year at the latest, depending on how long it takes the Federal Communications Commission to make a key second ruling, Chief Reorganization Officer Don Liebentritt said. Tribune finished the last major court hearing in its bankruptcy case on Friday, asking Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Carey to approve a plan that would divide ownership of the television and newspaper company among its senior lenders, including JPMorgan Chase & Co., and hedge funds Oaktree Capital Management LP and Angelo, Gordon & Co.

Energy exploration company Delta Petroleum Corp. filed a chapter 11 reorganization plan giving ownership stakes in a newly created company to creditors after years of losing money trying to find and extract natural gas pockets in and around the Rocky Mountains, Dow Jones DBR Small Cap reported today. The lending agent behind the company's $67.2 million bankruptcy loan and nearly 80 percent of groups who hold the company's biggest debt of $267.7 million have already agreed to accept the plan.

After 3 1/2 years and at least $410 million in fees billed by lawyers and other professionals, Tribune Co. may be on the verge of winning approval for a plan to emerge from bankruptcy court, the Chicago Tribune reported today. The Chicago-based media company and its creditors must appear before Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Carey for a confirmation hearing starting today, but unlike a year ago when a group of junior bondholders led by New York hedge fund Aurelius Capital Management waged all-out war against a restructuring plan proposed by the company and its senior creditors, this plan has drawn little new opposition, and most observers expect Judge Carey to approve it. Given the complexity of the case, legal experts say the judge likely will take several weeks to write a formal opinion. But approval would pave the way for Tribune Co., parent of the Chicago Tribune, to exit bankruptcy as early as the fourth quarter, assuming the company and its lawyers can overcome several key obstacles.

Nebraska Book Co., the operator of a chain of college bookstores, won court approval of a restructuring plan that eliminates about $270 million in debt, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. Bankruptcy Judge Peter Walsh approved the company's reorganization plan at a hearing yesterday saying that he would sign the order once it is finalized. Nebraska Book sought bankruptcy protection last June with a pre-arranged plan to exit court protection within a few months. That plan unraveled after credit markets tightened and the company was unable to obtain $250 million in exit financing. Under the new plan, senior secured noteholders owed about $200 million will get virtually all of the reorganized company's equity, plus $100 million in new notes and the right to participate in an $80 million exit loan. The noteholders are projected to recoup about 81 cents on the dollar.

LightSquared's biggest lenders are questioning the company's ability to clear regulatory hurdles and build out its high-speed wireless network, steps upon which its viability depends, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported today. "Remote" and "highly unlikely" are how lenders behind some $1.1 billion of $1.7 billion in secured bank debt describe the possibility that LightSquared will overcome hurdles it has faced over the past decade and begin generating substantial income upon its exit from bankruptcy proceedings, according to court papers filed on Tuesday.

Bankrupt Hostess Brands Inc., the maker of Twinkies, is in talks with potential buyers and unions as it tries to stave off liquidation of the once-iconic American baked goods company, Reuters reported yesterday. The outcome was far from certain as any deal to sell the company would hinge on Hostess' success in resolving labor issues. Industry analysts believe that private-equity firms are likely suitors, while Hostess's brands could also be a target for food companies such as Mexico's Grupo Bimbo and U.S. baker Flower Foods Inc., which on Thursday was looking for acquisitions in the industry. Hostess this month warned its 18,500 employees that they may be laid off by mailing notices. Hostess will go back to bankruptcy court on June 5 for a trial on whether it can reject deals with 10 smaller unions, covering collective bargaining agreements for nearly 1,200 employees.

The Senate held two votes yesterday on measures to ensure that student loan rates do not double in July—and the issue remained exactly where it began: stuck, The Washington Post reported yesterday. The measures each failed to reach the 60-vote threshold necessary to move forward, as the parties remain at loggerheads over how to pay for the $6 billion loan subsidy. If unresolved, loan rates will rise from 3.4 to 6.8 percent on July 1. Leaders in both parties have said they want to freeze rates for another year. Democrats have proposed paying for the additional year of loan subsidies by ending a tax provision that allows executives of some small businesses to collect some of their income as business profits instead of wages. On a 51-43 vote, the measure failed to advance. The Republican proposal would have paid for the loan-rate freeze by eliminating the preventative health care fund created in the 2010 health care act. The White House has said Obama would veto that bill, but it failed to move ahead in the Senate on a 34-62 vote.

Dallas-based Reddy Ice expects to emerge from bankruptcy protection this month with a lighter debt load and a cash infusion from Centerbridge Capital Partners, the Dallas Morning News reported on Saturday. Reddy Ice Holdings Inc. and its subsidiary Reddy Ice Corp. filed for bankruptcy protection in April. The parent company on Saturday that a bankruptcy judge has confirmed its reorganization plan under which debt will be reduced by about $145 million, interest expense will be cut by about $20 million annually and it will get an equity infusion of about $25 million. That includes a $7.5 million preferred stock investment from Centerbridge. In connection with the plan, the court approved settlement agreements in legal cases stemming from a U.S Justice Department probe of the packaged ice industry.