Citing unfulfilled promises from Alabama Aircraft Industries Inc. to finish up work on four military jets, Boeing Co. is asking a Delaware bankruptcy judge for some financial reassurance, requesting that the court put its $8 million claim against the Birmingham aircraft maintenance company ahead of other major creditors. Get the full story »
Inside these posts: Creditors
Visit our Filed page for categories. To browse by specific topic, see our Inside page. For a list of companies covered on this site, visit our Companies page.
FDIC sets repayment pecking order for creditors
Creditors who help authorities liquidate a troubled financial firm would be among those paid off first among unsecured creditors, according to a proposal issued by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Bank and financial services groups have complained that more clarity is needed about how unsecured creditors will be treated under the U.S. government’s new authority to seize large, failing companies. Get the full story »
Judge to approve plan that pays GM creditors
A U.S. Federal court judge on Thursday said he would approve the bankruptcy plan for “Old GM”, paving the way for General Motors to begin distributing stock and warrants to some unsecured creditors, a spokesman said. Get the full story »
Tribune lenders drop competing bankruptcy plan
A group of lenders has withdrawn its plan for reorganizing newspaper owner Tribune Co, leaving two proposals for ending the company’s two-year stay in bankruptcy, according to court documents.
The group known as the Bridge Lenders agreed to withdraw its plan and support Tribune’s proposal, which is based on a settlement among lenders JPMorgan Chase & Co and hedge funds Oak Tree Capital Management and Angelo, Gordon & Co. Get the full story »
Creditor sues Icahn over Blockbuster bankruptcy
Disgruntled Blockbuster Inc. creditor Lyme Regis Partners LLC has sued Carl Icahn, alleging that the billionaire investor set the video-rental chain up to fail so he could take it over.
In the lawsuit filed last week in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, junior bondholder Lyme Regis said Icahn took advantage of his “insider” status, including his approval of a 2009 bond issuance while he served as a Blockbuster board member, to put himself in a position to own the company upon its emergence from Chapter 11. Get the full story »
1 Tribune Co. reorganization plan withdrawn
A group of lenders to bankrupt Tribune Co. withdrew its reorganization plan for the media company, leaving creditors with three other options when they begin voting on how to end the 2-year-old Chapter 11 case.
Pursuing the plan “was not the best focus of our resources,” said Evan Flaschen, an attorney representing the group, made up of 14 hedge funds, including GreyWolf Capital Management and billionaire George Soros’ Soros Fund Management. Get the full story »
Tribune creditors to vote on 4 reorganization plans
The judge in Tribune Co.’s contentious bankruptcy case signaled his approval Monday to send four competing restructuring plans out for vote by the Chicago-based media company’s creditors.
If he issues the formal order by Wednesday, which will mark the two-year anniversary of the case, solicitation packages containing disclosure documents explaining the four plans will likely be mailed on Dec. 22, said a Tribune Co. lawyer.
Creditors will then have until Jan. 28 to cast their votes and the judge will use those results to gauge support for the various plans ahead of a five-day confirmation hearing set for early March. Get the full story »
BofA to return $500M of seized Lehman deposits
Bank of America was ordered by a U.S. judge to return $500 million of deposits it seized from Lehman Brothers Holdings shortly after Lehman’s bankruptcy. Get the full story »
Discount retailer Loehmann’s files for bankruptcy
U.S. discount retailer Loehmann’s is filing for bankruptcy after its Dubai government-linked owner failed to reach a debt-extension deal with creditors.
Judge gives creditors right to sue Zell, others
A bankruptcy judge on Friday granted Tribune Co.’s official committee of unsecured creditors authority to make the opening moves in long-threatened litigation over the 2007 leveraged buyout blamed for the media company’s tumble into Chapter 11.
Judge Kevin Carey said he would sign off on an order acknowledging the official committee is the proper body to bring claims against lenders, executives and other leaders of the embattled media company, as well as advisers who reaped millions in fees from the LBO. Get the full story »
Study: Lower credit scores in minority communities
Consumers living in minority communities were more likely to have non-prime credit scores, while individuals in mostly-white neighborhoods were more likely to have prime credit scores, according to a report released Tuesday by Woodstock Institute.
The Chicago-based non-profit research group into fair lending issues found that 20.3 percent of Illinois residents had credit scores below 620, a common cutoff point to be considered for prime interest rates. Get the full story »
Tribune Co. creditors seek to sue Zell over LBO
The unsecured creditor’s committee in Tribune Co.’s bankruptcy case asked a Delaware judge Monday for the right to sue Chicago real estate magnate Sam Zell, company officials and others who participated in the company’s ill-fated 2007 leveraged buyout. Get the full story »
Mattel charges Bratz maker with diverting funds
Toymaker Mattel Inc. has filed a lawsuit alleging MGA Entertainment fraudulently transferred hundreds of millions of dollars to keep Mattel from collecting on anticipated judgments and to defraud other creditors.
The suit filed Wednesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court alleges MGA transferred $430 million in dividends and other assets to its chief executive Isaac Larian, his family members and various trusts between 2004 and 2008 to make the company appear insolvent and prevent MGA’s creditors, including Mattel, from cashing in. Get the full story »
Tribune Co. bankruptcy settlement breaks down
The settlement at the heart of Tribune Co.’s proposed reorganization plan has fallen apart, casting doubt on whether the Chicago-based media conglomerate can continue to control its own fate in bankruptcy court.
At a status hearing in Delaware Friday, Tribune Co. lead attorney James Conlan of Sidley Austin said the company planned to file unilateral amendments to its plan by next Friday and threatened to cast the case into extended litigation if the warring parties can’t come to an agreement.
“The debtor has tried mightily to bring the parties together,” Conlan said. “That hasn’t happened.” Get the full story »
Aug. 13, 2010 at 4:20 p.m.
Comments Off
Filed under: Bankruptcy, Chicago executives, Magazines, Media, Newspapers, Radio, TV Zell seeks to be repaid before others in Tribune bankruptcy
Sam Zell, who took Tribune Co. private in a 2007 leveraged buyout, says he wants his claims in the media company’s bankruptcy to be paid before those of any lower-priority creditors. Zell put $315 million of his own money into the $8 billion deal. The company filed for Chapter 11 last year.
Demands by the lower-priority creditors have gotten louder since a bankruptcy examiner’s report last week raised questions about the LBO.
