The North Carolina Bankruptcy Information Blog

It is hard to understand why companies that can make billions of dollars find themselves seeking the advantages of the United States bankruptcy system. The last couple of years has seen countless examples of such bankruptcy cases, many of which created new standards for corporate filings.

MGM Studios, a Golden Age of Hollywood production starlet founded in 1924, has started its final steps toward total emergence from its pre-packaged bankruptcy that was approved earlier this month. The studio is now substantially smaller with fewer employees and substantially less financial overhead.

At this point, the company only needs a formal court ruling to be “out of bankruptcy.”

Many of the company’s creditors decided to accept ownership stakes in exchange for the debt they were owed.…

The recession seems to just keep coming. Most recently, the country’s widespread, historic economic struggle has taken as victim The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co.

More commonly known as A&P Grocery, the struggling business filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in New York last week. The company also owns Waldbaums and Super Fresh. However, those brands are not often found in North Carolina. A&P is a prominent, low-price grocer throughout the New York Tri-State region, an area from which many Triangle resident hail.

The company is literally a part of American history after being founded in the mid-1800s. In the years just after the depression, A&P stores numbered almost 16,000 and were widely recognized.…

Recently one of the largest radio broadcasting companies in the nation, Citadel Broadcasting, entered into bankruptcy proceedings. Now it appears as if there may be other media giants following in Citadel’s footsteps with NextMedia Group and Heartland Publications looking to file for bankruptcy as well.

This has been a bad year for media organizations all around. Earlier this year the well known Reader’s Digest Association filed as well as television broadcaster ION Media Networks and the Sun-Times Media Group (a newspaper company). So far, only ION has announced that it will be coming out from bankruptcy; this after they managed to get rid of nearly $3 billion (2.7) of preferred stock and debt.…

Nicholas Cage isn’t the only movie star filing for bankruptcy. The owners of Tavern on the Green, arguably America’s most famous restaurant, and an esteemed eatery featured in films from Edward Scissorhands, and Ghostbusters to The Out-of-Towners and Wall Street, has recently sought the protection of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York.

As Reuters reported in September, “To thousands of visitors, Tavern on the Green is New York,” a 2005 New York Times restaurant review stated. It was also considered one of the most romantic spots in town to become engaged, have a wedding reception or spend an anniversary.…

In the last year, we’ve been witness to one record breaking bankruptcy petition after the next, from national retailers like Circuit City to automobile manufacturing icons like General Motors. However, in the last few months, fewer companies have failed thanks to the relative loosening of the credit markets and the somewhat more complex process of bond sales and distressed-debt exchanges.

A distressed-debt exchange occurs when bondholders trade, or exchange, current debt for debt that will come due down the road or for equity in the hopefully stronger company, provided the money from the bonds fuels enough positive change.

Okay, and what are bonds?…

For many Americans, the news of a credit card company declaring bankruptcy would be welcome news. However, before any corks are popped, those celebrating should look a little deeper into what Advanta Corp.’s Chapter 11 filing means for the economy.

Advanta Corp. provides credit cards to small businesses, which they can use to buy general business items and support operations. Because the recession has had such a tremendous impact on our nation’s small business owners, few Advanta customers could repay their debt, leaving the company in dire straits. The bankruptcy is not a complete surprise to banking analysts or Wall Street, as the company ceased all activity on current accounts a number of months ago.…

Hockey season is underway. And in Phoenix, the seemingly endless off-season bankruptcy parade may finally be forgotten, for at least 60 minutes, when the Phoenix Coyotes open at home against the Columbus Blue Jackets on October 10.

For a number of months, a wave of personal vendettas and crumbling finances have plagued one of the NHL’s major market franchises ever since its now previous owner, Jerry Moyes, tried to file bankruptcy without notifying the league. Moreover, he also conspired with an aggressive Canadian billionaire, Jim Balsillie, to move the team to Hamilton, Ontario. NHL league executives were definitely not on board, especially after Balsillie had previously attempted to move both the Nashville Predators and Pittsburgh Penguins to Canada.…

Reader’s Digest, the coffee-ringed, literary staple of grandparents’ coffee tables, recliner-side book stacks and flea market “all-you-can-grab” tables, is filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Clearly a sign that even the most family-friendly print media stalwarts are not immune from the impact of Internet news and YouTube versions of “drama in real life,” the company’s bankruptcy has been pre-arranged and if approved by a bankruptcy judge, will cut what it owes from $2.2 billion to $550 million.

Reader’s Digest is the world’s most widely read magazine with offices in 45 countries. It also publishes an array of additional media, such as music and home videos.…

The bankruptcies of General Motors and Chrysler have created a buzz in bankruptcy law circles because of their rapid movement through the court system. The sale of GM was formally approved on July 5, marking the nation’s birthday by giving court approval to one of its favorite corporate sons.

Both the GM and Chrysler bankruptcies sped through the courts in under 45 days with the help of sell-off strategies largely orchestrated by the US government. Countless legal professionals did not think this sort of time-frame was possible, especially with companies as complex as two of the world’s largest car manufacturers. As a result, law students nationwide will have a new topic of study come next semester.…

One of the most popular amusement park companies in the world, Six Flags, is experiencing a financial rollercoaster of it’s own, having just filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. But it looks the company will come out of the economic corkscrew all smiles.

If the company’s plan is approved by the court, it will be owned primarily by its creditors. With more than $2 billion in debt, the company has been negotiating a stock for equity deal, similar to what both Chrysler and General Motors were trying to accomplish before filing for protection. The park chain’s owners could not reach a deal, which was also affected by a pending payment of $300 million to preferred stockholders.…

It appears that the June 1 deadline to present a plan to the federal government to avoid bankruptcy might be met, as it has been reported that GM and its debtholders have reached an agreement.

In order to prevent the largest corporate bankruptcy in U.S. history, General Motors was given until June 1 by the federal government to create a viable company restructuring plan. The government is highly involved with the company’s dealings because of the amount of taxpayer bailout money given to the firm to remain operational.

The car maker’s initial strategy discussions to avoid bankruptcy sputtered and quickly broke down.…