Back in September, “action sports company” Quiksilver USA filed for bankruptcy protection, planning to reorganize and make its retail presence even more action-packed. After months of arguing over the value of the company, with creditors claiming that the company is worth $144 million more than it claims. Finally, the two sides have come to an agreement, and the bankruptcy will be settled. [More]
bankruptcy
Judge Picks American Apparel’s Bankruptcy Plan Over Founder Dov Charney’s Buyout Bid
By 1.25.16
Dov Charney’s dream of buying back the company he founded would appear to be over: a U.S. judge said he will approve American Apparel’s plant to exit bankruptcy and rejected a takeover bid from the former CEO and his financial backers. [More]
Report: American Apparel Receives $200M Takeover Bid From Investor Backing Former CEO Dov Charney
By 1.8.16
Last month, we heard rumblings that American Apparel’s founder and former CEO Dov Charney was working with an investment firm to figure out a plan to buy the company out of bankruptcy. The chain said at the time that Charney hadn’t made any kind of formal offer. Today, a new report says an investor working with Charney has offered up a takeover bid of more than $200 million for American Apparel. [More]
People Holding Onto RadioShack Gift Cards Can Now File Refund Claims
By 12.4.15
If you’re one of millions of consumers holding on to an older RadioShack gift card, listen up: the retailer has begun the process of issuing refunds for the balance of those cards — totaling $46 million. [More]
Corinthian College’s Misleading Job-Placement Info Could Result In Faster Debt Relief For Students
By 11.17.15
Thousands of students affected by the abrupt closure of for-profit college educator Corinthian Colleges’ Wyotech, Heald College and Everest University campuses could soon have more options when it comes to receiving debt relief after a joint investigation by the California Attorney General’s office and the Department of Education found additional evidence that the schools misrepresented job placement rates for several programs in order to enroll students. [More]
Rdio Will File For Bankruptcy, Sell Smoldering Remains To Pandora
By 11.16.15
RIP, Rdio: the music streaming service tried its best to compete with bigger streaming services like Spotify, Pandora, and Apple Music. After the company files for bankruptcy, though, competitor Pandora has offered $75 million in cash for its intellectual property and some employees. What about the customers? They could come along as part of a separate transaction. [More]
Senators Question Takata’s Ability To Complete Recall Replacement Amid Fines, Lost Customers
By 11.10.15
With Japanese auto parts maker Takata facing a $70 million fine from federal regulators, and car manufacturers ditching the company’s airbags, lawmakers urged the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to ensure the company is able to complete the repairs to millions of vehicles in the event it files for bankruptcy. [More]
Wells Fargo To Pay $81.6M To Homeowners In Bankruptcy For Failure To Provide Payment Notices
By 11.5.15
Wells Fargo has agreed to pay $81.6 million in relief to homeowners after the bank repeatedly failed to provide them with proper legal notices during bankruptcy proceedings.
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Bankrupt American Apparel Turns To Same Hedge Fund That Helped RadioShack
By 10.7.15
At first glance, American Apparel and RadioShack don’t seem to have much in common: one uses provocative advertisements to sell leggings, T-shirts and other clothing items, while the other focuses more on the sale of wireless and electronic products. Unfortunately, the things the two companies do have in common aren’t so great: both have suffered through years of slumping sales that eventually led them to, separately, file for bankruptcy protection. And that means they could soon share a common hero in hedge fund Standard General. [More]
Your Borders Gift Card Is Now Worthless: This Is Not A Repost From 2011
By 10.6.15
You may remember that back in 2013, people who forgot to redeem their Borders gift cards sued the company’s smoldering remains and tried to get some of their money back. A federal judge shot that effort down, but the gift card lawsuit continued, and went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. No, really. However, the Supremes declined to hear the case, which means you’re stuck using those Borders gift cards to scrape ice off your car windows. [More]
American Apparel Files For Bankruptcy Protection
By 10.5.15
Two months after American Apparel admitted it didn’t have enough financing to continue operations for another year, the retailer says things haven’t gotten better and it’s filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. [More]
Judge Approves Final Plan For RadioShack Bankruptcy
By 10.1.15
RadioShack’s bankruptcy filing back in February probably surprised no one, and it’s also not surprising that it has taken almost eight months to sort out the affairs of a company that was 95 years old and had 4,000 stores. While many of the chain’s stores were saved and continue under a new owner, and some creditors will be paid in full, the bankruptcy won’t end well for the Shack’s unsecured creditors. [More]
West Coast Grocery Chain Haggen To Close Most Stores After Expansion Gone Wrong
By 9.25.15
The purchase of nearly 150 grocery store locations in the Northwest meant to provide consumers with more options in the face of a mega-merger between chains Albertsons and Safeway has come to a rather disastrous end: Haggen Inc. plans to close most of those locations after its quick expansion turned sour and the company filed for bankruptcy. [More]
Quirky To File For Bankruptcy: Wink Connected Home Business Already Has A Buyer
By 9.22.15
Quirky began in 2009 as a community where anyone could design a product and get paid once it went to market. This led to easily-mockable products like piggy banks and egg trays that connect to your smartphone, but also some valid products, like the Pivot Power power strip. The company is selling its Wink smart-home connection system for $15 million, and also plans to sell off its name and maybe even its product-development and the community that goes with it. [More]
Surfing Outfitter Quiksilver Declares Bankruptcy, Will Close 27 Stores
By 9.11.15
If you happen to have a gift card for Quiksilver sitting around idle, don’t use it as a tiny surfboard for your fingers anymore: it’s time to redeem it. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this week and is closing about 20% of its stores. However, the company received approval for a $175 million loan that will let it stay in business while it restructures. [More]
State AGs And Former RadioShack Reach Unredeemed Gift Card Settlement
By 9.10.15
There’s good news for holders of old RadioShack gift cards: people who purchased cards directly at stores or from gift card kiosks will get their money back, instead of either forfeiting the funds or filing a claim in the bankruptcy, metaphorically getting in line behind companies owed thousands or millions of dollars. [More]
Radioshack Creditors Claim Pre-Bankruptcy Shenanigans Go Back To Early 2014
By 9.1.15
The electronics retailer RadioShack had been obviously doomed for a while, finally declaring bankruptcy in February of 2015. Yet lenders kept giving the company money to keep the lights on and keep paying employees to ask for phone numbers and buy extended warranties. Now a group of junior creditors have filed a lawsuit against former Radioshack leaders and the hedge fund Standard General, alleging that this whole bankruptcy was deliberately planned to deliver RadioShack to Standard General at a fire-sale price. [More]
RadioShack Agrees To Pay Outstanding Gift Card Balances Before Paying Other Debts
By 8.26.15
The state attorney general of Texas, home state of the company formerly known as RadioShack, wasn’t pleased that the electronics retailer went out of business with an estimated $46 million in gift cards outstanding. Normal bankruptcy procedure is that gift card holders who don’t cash in their cards before the deadline–usually 30 days after the company files for bankruptcy status — are out of luck. Thanks to the TX AG, the American public won’t have to shrug off the loss of that money… unless they lost their gift card. [More]
