Category: Bankruptcy

RadioShack Bankruptcy Protection Part Deux

U.S. electronics chain RadioShack filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday for the second time in a little over two years, faced with a challenging retail environment and an unsatisfying partnership with wireless provider Sprint Corp. The Chapter 11 filing comes after RadioShack, owned by General Wireless Operations, tried to revitalize its business by co-branding stores with the wireless carrier in an effort to compete against their largest rivals. General Wireless, which acquired the RadioShack brand in 2015, listed assets and liabilities in the range of $100 million to $500 million in the U.S. bankruptcy court for the Delaware district.

Where South Korea’s Teetering, Debt-Laden Companies Go to Bank

South Korea’s state-owned lender, the nation’s largest policy bank, and other creditors turned down a bailout request from Hanjin, then one of the world’s biggest shipping lines. That in turn led to a bankruptcy filing in Seoul and a major disruption in global shipping as more than 90 Hanjin ships were marooned offshore and ports in the U.S., Asia and Europe turned the company’s ships away.

No Chance’ Brazil Government Waives Oi Debt, Minister Says

Brazil’s government can’t waive Oi SA’s debt with a local regulator and state-run banks, the communications minister said, denying the phone carrier a lifeline that would have helped it pull out of the biggest bankruptcy in the country’s history. “The government can’t let go of resources, they are public resources, debt with the public administration,” Science and Technology Minister Gilberto Kassab said Sunday in an interview in Barcelona, Spain.

No Chance’ Brazil Government Waives Oi Debt, Minister Says

Brazil’s government can’t waive Oi SA’s debt with a local regulator and state-run banks, the communications minister said, denying the phone carrier a lifeline that would have helped it pull out of the biggest bankruptcy in the country’s history. “The government can’t let go of resources, they are public resources, debt with the public administration,” Science and Technology Minister Gilberto Kassab said Sunday in an interview in Barcelona, Spain.

No Chance’ Brazil’s Government Can Waive Oi Debt, Minister Says

Brazil’s government can’t waive Oi SA’s debt with a local regulator and state-run banks, the communications minister said, denying the phone carrier a lifeline that would have helped it pull out of the biggest bankruptcy in the country’s history. “The govt can’t let go of resources, they are public resources, debt with the public administration,” Science and Technology Minister Gilberto Kassab, who also oversees communications, said Sunday in an interview in Barcelona, Spain.

David Elman

David Elman is the senior bankruptcy editor covering new bankruptcy filings, court hearings, controversies and debtor-in-possession loans and exits. David also edits auction, out-of-court and private equity copy, helps produce daily electronic editions of The Deal and compiles the Bankruptcy Insider and M&A Tipsheet newsletters.

Toshiba’s Nuclear Reactor Mess Winds Back to a Louisiana Swamp

If you want to understand why Toshiba Corp. is about to report a multi-billion dollar write-down on its nuclear reactor business, the story begins and ends with a one-time pipe manufacturer with roots in the swamp country of Louisiana. The Shaw Group Inc., based in Baton Rouge, looms large in the complex tale of blown deadlines and budgets at four nuclear reactor projects in Georgia and South Carolina overseen by Westinghouse Electric Co., a Toshiba subsidiary.

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Financial literacy and money management are important life skills. Unfortunately, most people never study this in school, leaving many young adults ill-prepared to deal with their finances as they enter the work world, often in their early twenties.

Warning Signs Mount on Sears’s Path

The struggling retailer bought some breathing room through moves to raise more than $1.5 billion in recent weeks, but investors are growing increasingly doubtful that Sears will ever get back on track. The cost of insuring the retailer’s bonds hit new highs and its stock price continues to tumble falling 5% Monday to close at $6.52, an all-time low, signaling fresh concerns about the retailer’s future Sparking the latest bout of investor anxiety were downgrades of Sears’s debt last month by Fitch Ratings and Moody’s Investors Service that were prompted by the retailer’s dismal holiday sales and continued losses.

Wall St. lending to Main St. even as many decry Dodd-Frank

President Donald Trump has wasted little time in beginning a push to reverse the stricter banking regulations enacted after the 2008 financial crisis. Trump has branded the Dodd-Frank Act “a disaster” – a regulatory overreach that slowed the economy and stifled lending to consumers and businesses.

Judge Discharges Bankruptcy After 50 Cent Pays $22 Million

The rapper who burst onto the music scene in 2003 with his debut album, “Get Rich or Die Tryin,” filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in 2015, citing debts of $36 million and assets of less than $20 million. Nevins approved a plan in July calling for 50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis Jackson III, to pay back about $23 million.

Teen Retailer Wet Seal Slips Into Bankruptcy

Struggling teen retailer Wet Seal is the latest to file for bankruptcy and plans to close all of its 142 U.S. stores by the end of February. Wet Seal filed for Chapter 11 protection Thursday morning, adding to a growing list of struggling retailers turning to insolvency amid a decline in mall traffic and an overall downturn in the industry.

1 Thing Vanguard Natural Resources, LLC Has to Prove in 2017

That is after its banks had reduced the borrowing base under its credit facility for the second time that year resulting in another deficiency. This situation caused the upstream MLP to caution that: [It] anticipates that its forecasted excess cash flow will not be sufficient to pay the remaining borrowing base deficiency.

George Soros’ Best-Performing Stocks of 2017 So Far

Love him or hate him — casual interest or indifference will also do — there’s no denying hedge-fund billionaire George Soros’ considerable skill predicting and profiting from the movements of financial markets. In a career spanning over six decades, Soros has amassed an estimated $25 billion fortune entirely through trading and investing stocks, bonds, currencies, and the like.

U.S. bankruptcy court judge OKs $425 million for Avaya loan

A U.S. bankruptcy court judge granted Avaya Inc approval on Friday to tap $425 million of the $725 million loan proposed to carry the telecommunications company through its restructuring, funds the company said were essential to continue operations. Avaya filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Thursday to cut its debt of about $6 billion after efforts to sell its call center business and reach a consensual deal with creditors failed.

US judge OKs plan for Caesars’ unit to exit bankruptcy

A federal judge has approved a plan to reorganize a subsidiary of casino giant Caesars Entertainment Corp., clearing the way for the operating unit to exit bankruptcy after filing for Chapter 11 protection with $18 billion in debt. The CEO of Las Vegas-based Caesars Entertainment heralded the approval Tuesday in federal bankruptcy court in Chicago.

Layoffs begin as Gildan backs away from American Apparel factories

The jobs of 2,400 American Apparel factory workers in the U.S. are about to disappear after Gildan declined to take over the manufacturing plants. American Apparel LLC said it had started to lay off staff on Monday, after Canadian apparel maker Gildan Activewear Inc. withdrew its initial plan to acquire some of the bankrupt U.S. fashion retailer’s manufacturing operations.

Gildan Wins Auction to Purchase American Apparel

Apparel maker Gildan Activewear has won the auction to acquire the American Apparel brand and certain company assets with an $88 million cash offer. The transaction is subject to bankruptcy approval on Thursday and is expected to be completed by early February, Gildan said in a statement this morning.

Italy to Meet Alitalia Executives as 1,600 Job Cuts Said to Loom

As the new Italian government of Paolo Gentiloni hammers away at a rescue plan for beleaguered lender Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA, it’s suddenly contending with another corporate crisis: the future of Alitalia SpA. Executives from key investor Ethiad Airways and Alitalia — which went bankrupt in 2008 after rescue attempts involving the state and private investors failed, and which teetered on the brink of collapse in 2014 — are set to meet Italian ministers on Monday, the carrier based in Abu Dhabi said in a statement Sunday.

Distress Moving to Retail, Health Care as Energy Woes Fade

The combination of rising rates and a new political regime in the U.S. will bring about an uptick in corporate restructurings outside the energy space, creating new opportunities for investors in the riskiest parts of the debt market. That’s one of the conclusions from interviews with bond traders, bankruptcy lawyers, financial advisers and fixed-income analysts about the outlook for 2017.

US equity firm makes strongest bid to buy Portuguese bank

Portugal’s central bank says an offer from U.S. private equity firm Lone Star is the most promising bid to buy Novo Banco , the so-called good bank salvaged by the Portuguese government from the collapse of major lender Banco Espirito Santo. The Bank of Portugal says it has invited the fund, based in Dallas, Texas, to “deepen negotiations” over the possible purchase, though it said rival bidders have expressed a willingness to improve their offers and would not be excluded.

Atlantic City mayor urges Icahn to sell ex-Taj Mahal casino

This Oct. 10, 2016 photo shows striking union members picketing outside the Trump Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City N.J. moments before it shut down. Owner Carl Icahn plans to surrender the casino license for the shuttered facility, and has filed a … deed restriction against the property preventing any future buyer from using it as a casino unless they pay an unspecified fee.