Below is our initial take on recent bankruptcy-related developments:
Home goods retail chain Big Lots Inc. is considering filing for bankruptcy after years of decreased sales. The company is trying to rally investors to avoid bankruptcy.
S&K Take: A big name that has been on the restructuring radar for some time looks like it may file as early as next week (to be clear that is your author’s speculation based on a report that cited unidentified individuals with knowledge of the matter). The stock has been in a nosedive, but the company is holding out hope for “investors” that might be willing to bail it out. There have been some retail miracles (although some of those have wound up in ugly bankruptcies, see Bed Bath & Beyond) so it is possible? Would imagine that any investment is going to require getting out of a chunk of locations, so a bankruptcy may be inevitable. Will keep this one on the radar and report in coming weeks.
On Wednesday, Scandinavian airline SAS announced it exited U.S. Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. The airline underwent a major restructuring, reducing its debt by over $2 billion, streamlining its fleet, and delisting its stock in a process that eliminated the stakes of over 250,000 former owners.
S&K Take: Furniture and airlines; that’s what Scandinavia does. We have been reporting on this name for a long time, and we learned this week that the SAS plan has finally been consummated. The Plan went effective on Wednesday, giving control of the airline to Castlelake, Air France-KLM, Lind Invest and the Danish government, which appointed a new board of directors. Distributions to creditors are expected to take place over the next month. Congrats to all involved on finishing a highly-complex case.
A Houston bankruptcy judge ruled on Saturday that ex-U.S. bankruptcy judge David Jones must face questions regarding his once-secret romance with law firm Jackson Walker attorney Elizabeth Freeman whose firm appeared in cases before him, including if he was biased towards the firm.
S&K Take: Your weekly dose of SD Tex drama, with Judge Rodriguez allowing a deposition of former Judge Jones, albeit under his supervision. The deposition will, in theory, be limited to questions about his relationship with Ms. Freeman—he can’t be asked about any of his official acts. The relationship and its implications, though, sit outside of the bounds of his official acts, so they are fair game.
