Category Archives: Bankruptcy

If it weren't for the Beatles, Guitar Center might still be the Organ Center.

That was the name of the store Wayne Mitchell founded in 1959 in Hollywood, California. As the name suggested, it sold organs for the home along with small appliances. Rock and roll had been around for a few years by then but apparently hadn't completely displaced home music makers' taste for the baroque and churchly organ.

The Beatles helped change that forever, at Mitchell's store and elsewhere. "As Beatlemania washed onto American shores in 1964, and rock and roll took grip of Americans' collective consciousness, Mr. Mitchell recognized, and seized, an opportunity," Guitar Center Chief Financial Officer Tim Martin said in court papers. "The future of musical instrument retailing did not lay in organs. Americans wanted guitars."

Mitchell changed his store's name to "Vox Guitar Center," and revamped it as a purveyor of the specific brand favored by the Beatles. It would soon drop the "Vox" and transform itself into a big-box retailer of music equipment that would become the largest of its kind.

This weekend, Guitar Center filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcyafter the COVID-19 crisis shredded its finances. The retailer has a plan to quickly restructure, add liquidity and exit roughly the same as it came, but with new money and $800 million less in debt.The filing comes after years of struggle under a debt load leftover from multiple private equity takeovers and in a market for guitars that has wavered with taste and preference changes, and has been altered perhaps forever by the pandemic.

Selling guitars is vastly different from most other retail enterprises. It is attached to a lifestyle, multiple subcultures, a tradition of making music that predates human civilization, and very often Beatles-sized dreams of fame and glory.

"It's not like selling a toy. It's not like selling pet food," said Chuck Surack, the CEO of online guitar seller Sweetwater in an interview. Sweetwater is the No. 2 musical instrument retailer after Guitar Center, according to Music Trades. "To be really successful, you have to know the products and have a passion for them."

Mitchell created Guitar Center with an eye for the subculture that produced rock and roll. "In sharp contrast to the staid and established music stores in Southern California, Guitar Center sought out musicians to sell its equipment to customers, and encouraged customers to 'touch, feel, play' the instruments at their leisure," Martin said. "Guitar Center was an experience immersive and perfectly suited to the time."

Starting in the early 1970s, Guitar Center started expanding, first with more stores in California and then adding stores in Minneapolis, Dallas, Houston and Chicago. The stores featured high ceilings, the better to merchandise stores wall-to-wall with guitars.

Over the ensuing decades the retailer added hundreds of stores and acquired new businesses, including the mail-order and e-commerce retailer Musician's Friend, cataloger American Music Group and school band instrument specialist Music & Arts. After going public in 1997, in a decade of rapid growth, the retailer was taken private in a leveraged buyout by Bain Capital Partners and another investor.

That began a long struggle with debt that ultimately ends with Guitar Center's bankruptcy. It's a story that has played out many times in retail in the past decade. Debt leftover from a private equity acquisition becomes an albatross, weighing a retailer down while competitors and consumers rocket ahead with market and industry changes.

As a competitor, Surack could see the changes in Guitar Center's stores and business as it came under the ownership of investment firms. "There was a period when all their stores were inventoried well, and they had lots of brands and everything from a good-better-best sort of thing," Surack said. "And through the years, they've gone to more and more private label, less expensive brands." As that happened, the stores started carrying less inventory and less inventory of the name brands that many customers sought.

Just as important, if not more so, was staff attrition at Guitar Center since private equity firms took over. "They have laid off people that have just decades of history with them," Surack said. "They try and get rid of high salaries, and they fill their stores up with minimum wage people or close to minimum wage people who don't know the products, they don't stay very long. They're there until they get another gig, whether it's a playing gig or a gig in another industry."

In 2014, ownership changed hands after Ares Capital converted its equity to debt in a restructuring deal. Guitar Center refinanced its debt again in 2018 but essentially just kicked the can down the road without reducing its overall burden. Looming over the company during this year were maturities on some $1 billion in debt.

The pandemic picked away atthe retailer's finances. Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, Guitar Center reported 10 straight quarters of comparable sales growth. But Martin said the pandemic "wiped out" much of that progress.

Not every retailer in the music space suffered as Guitar Center did. Sales of guitars boomed for many as the U.S. isolated to fight the pandemic. Bored, stressed and lonely, many have looked to guitars and other instruments to fill time and do something a little more rewarding than binge-watching videos. The CEO of guitar-maker Fender told the New York Times his company had record sales this year, while the chief executive of Gibson Brands said his company was selling instruments as fast as they could make them.

At Sweetwater, which Surack said is the largest online retailer of instruments, sales "exploded," with year over year growth of 56% in the spring and with continuing growth of nearly 50% for the year so far. "People are staying at home, and they're just ordering stuff," Surack said. "People who've always wanted to play an instrument have said, 'Now I have time.'"

But for Guitar Center, with 500 brick-and-mortar stores across its banners, the pandemic was a catastrophe. Along with making sales through its stores, the retailer, under CEO Ron Japinga, had been working to turn its stores into "full-service music shops" that offer lessons, repairs and rentals along with guitars and accessories, according to Martin.

"This focus on the service sector of the music business, rather than just merchandise sales, increased margins, boosted customer engagement, and generated steady income streams," Martin said. "These services also served to help insulate Guitar Center from online only retailers."

Those additional revenue streams, however, also took a hit when Guitar Center had to close its stores in the initial spread of COVID-19. And while the retailer has e-commerce channels which grew 130% while stores were closed, according to Martin they weren't enough to plug the leak. Even with e-commerce sales on the rise, Guitar Center's total sales for the first half of the year fell by nearly 20% compared to 2019.

Prior to the pandemic, Guitar Center had been on "extraordinarily sound footing," according to Martin. After stores closed, the company became pressed for cash, even after furloughing more than half of its employees and cutting costs wherever it could.

By summer, the retailer had missed payments on a group of bonds as it faced a liquidity shortage. It cut a deal with debtholders, who gave it a break on current interest payments so Guitar Center could preserve cash, but analysts still expected the retailer would need to restructure again down the road. And then in November, an announcement of a restructuring to be executed in Chapter 11 came from Guitar Center.

Guitar Center enters bankruptcy with a plan and a deal.Ares as well as new investors The Carlyle Group and Brigade Capital Management are together putting up $165 million in new equity investments to support the retailer.

Moreover, "supermajorities" of lenders have signed on to a plan to eliminate some $800 million in debt, although that still leaves a not-insignificant chunk left given Guitar Center's total load of $1.3 billion in funded debt.The retailer also has bankruptcy funding lined up and plans to issue $375 million in new bonds to help fund it through Chapter 11 and beyond.

If all goes according to plan, Guitar Center will be out of bankruptcy by the end of the year, and with roughly the same footprint it entered with. (The company has engaged real estate advisers to evaluate its portfolio but has said it is "pleased" with its store footprint.)

All of that points to support for the company from its key stakeholders, who are willing to put up money to keep the company alive and rockin' beyond Chapter 11. Japinga has said that after the in-court restructuring, Guitar Center will be "better equipped to execute on and invest in our strategic growth initiatives."

And that's a good thing, according to Guitar Center's biggest competitor.

"I did not, do not want Guitar Center to go bankrupt," Surack said. "They're good for our industry, even though they're not as good as they used to be. Our industry needs them badly. They need to inspire young people to come in and learn how to play an instrument. And that's something they did pretty well."

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How Guitar Center went from jukebox hero to latest pandemic bankruptcy - Retail Dive

Oil prices cratered earlier this year. Dual shockwaves -- plummeting demand due to COVID-19 and a short-lived price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia -- upended the oil market, causing a wave of destruction. Several oil companies filed for bankruptcy in the aftermath of that upheaval, with that initial wave driving many more filings over the year.

One of the segments hardest hit segments by this year's downturn was offshore drillers, as a bankruptcy wave engulfed nearlytheentiregroup. Among the few survivors isTransocean(NYSE:RIG). However, given its massive debt level, it might be the nextoil stockto file.

Image source: Getty Images.

Transocean ended the third quarter with $7.8 billion of long-term debt and another $640 million of borrowings that mature within the next year. The company paid $145 million of interest on those borrowings during the third quarter alone. Because of that and other costs, it only generated $81 million in net cash provided by operating expenses during the period. That barely covered the $65 million it spent on capital projects, primarily the funding of newbuild drillships currently under construction.

On the one hand, debt improved by nearly $1 billion from the prior quarter, thanks to a series of moves like debt exchanges. Further, the company ended the period with about $1.6 billion in cash, including $200 million restricted for debt service and about $1.3 billion of available borrowing capacity on its credit facility, giving it roughly $2.9 billion of total liquidity.

However, it has a lot of debt left to address, which will be tough to do given the offshore-drilling sector's current challenges. That's why most of its peers filed for bankruptcy, which allowed them to undergo a court-supported restructuring.

Transocean's moves during the third quarter bought it some more breathing room. However, things could get cramped again real soon, given the company's projected financial needs. The offshore driller currently has $1.5 billion of debt coming due through 2022 and another $1.7 billion of capital investments it needs to finance during that period. It will supplement that by generating between $900 million to $1.1 billion in operating cash flow, backed by its strong contract backlog. However, even with those incoming funds, its liquidity could fall to between $700 million to $900 million by the end of 2022.

The company does have some levers to pull that could help shore up its financial situation. For example, it's working to secure $400 million of financing on its Deepwater Titan drilling rig. It's also continuing to work on new debt-exchange offers to reduce its outstanding principal and extend its maturities. These actions would help preserve its liquidity so that it can remain afloat until market conditions improve.

However, Transocean still needs current creditors to accept its debt-exchange terms, which they might not do if they feel the company will end up filing for bankruptcy in the future. Some creditors tried to force the company's hand earlier this year by claiming its bond swaps were akin to a default.

Meanwhile, even if it completes more debt swaps, it won't fix the company's financial problems, as it will still have a significant amount of outstanding borrowings. It will be nearly impossible to get that debt to a more manageable level given the likely long-term downturn in the offshore-drilling sector, which could keep the pressure on rig rates, utilization, and valuations for years. Because of all that, it seems as if it's only a matter of time before the company files for bankruptcy.

Transocean faces a daunting challenge. Its near-term maturities and capital-spending requirements have it on track to burn through the bulk of its liquidity over the next two years. Meanwhile, it will still have a significant amount of future debt to address.

Because of these factors, Transocean seems destined to follow its offshore-drilling peers into bankruptcy. Given that bleak future, investors should avoid this stock at all costs.

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This Could Be the Next Oil Stock to Go Bankrupt - The Motley Fool

Gregg Wallace says losing everything is strangely liberating (Image: Getty Images)

As the pandemic rages on, a large number of restaurants and pubs are facing bankruptcy as they struggle to make ends meet due to lockdown and tier restrictions.

One person who knows only too well about dealing with a business going into administration is Masterchef star Gregg Wallace, who has had three businesses so far go under. Speaking on White Wine Question Time, he says while it is scary, losing your business can be strangely liberating.

This is what I've learned: first thing is when things start to go wrong, you worry, he told podcast host Kate Thornton.

Read more: Mystery as contestant edited out of MasterChef: The Professionals

What you're worried about is losing things. Once those things are gone, it's completely and utterly liberating. You can't worry about losing them anymore. After the house is gone, the marriage is gone, the cars have gone, that's it, you don't have to worry anymore.

Listen: Gregg Wallace talks about his work ethic and why hes terrified of being poor

The TV star, who has managed to get back on top after his businesses closed and is now estimated to be worth around 3.6 million, says losing everything just makes you stronger.

Let me tell you, if you were good enough to go from nothing in the first place to there, all you're now doing is pruning, he declared.

You will come back even stronger and quicker than you did before that - that I will absolutely guarantee. If you have an entrepreneurial spirit that got you so far, then you lose it, you will come back even stronger because you've got so much experience!

Read more: More than 4,700 jobs at risk as Peacocks and Jaeger fall into administration

Wallace, who has been presenting Masterchef alongside John Torrode since 2005, wishes that the Brits were a bit kinder to those who had failed businesses.

In America, they kind of expect people to get their businesses wrong. Over here, you're some kind of crook, he lamented.

Stupidity and ignorance is not a crime. It's the same way in, there's absolutely no way of finding true love without dating. There is no way of building a business successfully without making mistakes along the way.

Story continues

There is no such thing as failure. If you've learned a lesson from it, it was just a lesson.

Wallace said that his biggest worry in life was not having enough money to live on, which had helped him carry on when businesses had gone under, and his anxiety was something he had learnt to live with.

I've battled with anxiety all my life, he revealed to Thornton.

The anxiety of losing everything not thinking you're good enough. Always just a drive to be financially secure - but's been the focal point, my whole entire life.

Read more: Gregg Wallace on why lockdown has been brilliant for his health

When asked by Thornton what would be enough, the Inside The Factory host said he couldnt be a value on it, but it would involve having less outgoings.

It's no mortgage at all and it's enough in a pension pot so you don't have to earn at all that's it! he said.

I'm 56. Now let's say I retire at 71, I've got another 15 years of trading to get that done. I reckon I'll do it!

Hear Gregg Wallace talk about why wife number four is the real deal on the latest episode of White Wine Question Time. Listen on iTunes and Spotify.

Watch: Shane Richie talks about being bankrupt before landing his EastEnders role

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Gregg Wallace on surviving bankruptcy and three divorces: 'Losing everything is liberating' - Yahoo Sports

A Delaware bankruptcy court has approved a plan in which money to clean up Exides lead-polluted Berks County properties would be put in a trust fund.

The Environmental Response Trust would designate $10 million for "ongoing containment and safety efforts" at 16 of Exides former sites in Pennsylvania and nine other states. The Environmental Protection Agency, which agreed to the trust fund, said in an Oct. 14 filing it would not be enough for full cleanup.

What that means for the Berks County properties, including its facility at 3000 Montrose Ave. in Muhlenberg Township, is not clear.

The bankruptcy will impact Exides environmental liabilities at the Reading facility, the EPAsaid on its hazardous waste cleanup site. The agency said it is working with the Department of Justice and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to negotiate with Exide in the bankruptcy proceedings. Once the settlement of the bankruptcy is finalized, the EPA said, it would schedule a virtual public meeting to present the outcome of the proceedings and to discuss the impact to the environmental cleanups.

"While EPA remains in discussions with PADEP and the bankruptcy trustee over how to most efficiently use available funds to address the environmental cleanup at the Reading facility, EPA currently estimates those funds as being at least $2.5 million," said David Sternberg, EPA press officer in an email statement.

That amount is short of the most recent estimate $6.23 million to clean up and monitor the site. It is not clear where the money to finish the job will come from.

Jamar Thrasher, a DEP spokesman, said in an email statement that the department has actively participated in the Exide bankruptcy case, trying to ensure the most advantageous outcome for Pennsylvania.

"While the settlement proceeds will not be enough to completely address all environmental concerns, the court-approved settlement avoids the abandonment of the Reading site and ensures that there is no immediate and identifiable harm to the publics health and safety," Thrasher said.

"Please note that the plan of reorganization has been confirmed over Californias objection. DEP will work with EPA and the Environmental Response Trust that now owns the Reading site to address outstanding environmental concerns in an orderly fashion."

California state and local officials objected to the settlement, which would have given far less than needed to clean up Exide's Vernon battery plant and leaves the state and taxpayers on the hook to pay for continued environmental cleanup.

Exide's Muhlenberg facility and its environmental impact on the soil and water in the surrounding area has beenunder scrutiny of the EPA for many years.

The plant was idled in 2013. An adjacent facility is still operating a plastics recycling operation with a small number of employees.

Berks County Public Relations Officer Stephanie Weaver said the county is still reviewing the judges bankruptcy ruling with its counsel and consultants, and the effect the ruling may have on the local Exide property.

"The County stands by the position outlined in our recent letter to EPA that the Laureldale site needs to be cleaned up and properly closed to protect public health and safety," Weaver said in an email statement.

In September, Berks County commissionershad challenged a proposed cleanupand asked the EPA for a public hearing and for a new evaluation. The county said the EPA should conduct a new risk assessment in light of recent science and lack of monitoring of children's blood-lead levels in the area.

"As an overarching issue, the commissioners have grave concerns that EPA is proceeding to implement and finalize a cleanup in 2020 that was designed and based on 1990 science," consultant Fred Osman wrote to the EPA on behalf of the county.

Exide's American assetswere sold in July.A judge approved the sale in August. Affiliates of Atlas Holdings LLC paid $179 million in a transaction for seven battery plants and two lead recycling and recovery facilities. Not included in the sale were 16 so-called "nonperforming properties," that were abandoned and/or environmental liabilities.

Bankruptcy court documents list several Berks properties that will be abandoned by Exide and placed in the trust. In addition to the Muhlenberg Township plant, there are properties surrounding the Bernhart Reservoir: several residential properties on Spring Valley Road and a vacant plot at Isabelle Court and Josephine Drive. Also mentioned is a site near Hamburg.

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Bankruptcy court allows Exide to back away from polluted properties - Reading Eagle

It takes a lot of perseverance and adaptability to weather the kinds of cultural, economic and technological changes that happen in 50 years, much less a century or two. Retailers like Target (founding owner Dayton's department stores launched in 1902) and Macy's (established in New York in 1858) had to get past depressions, world wars, social upheaval, changing norms, pandemics and sometimes their own bankruptcy in order to be in business today.

For several legacy retailers around their age or even older, however, 2020 was the breaking point. This year has already set records for the number of retail bankruptcies 27 by Retail Dive's count at press time with yet more possible.

Some of these brands will survive their latest challenge, and emerge from the bankruptcy process ready to write their post-pandemic chapter. For the others, it will at long last mean "goodbye."

Brooks Brothers calls itself the oldest apparel retailer in the U.S. Its first store debutedthe same year the White House reopened after burning down in the War of 1812. For nearly two centuries the retailer thrived in a society that held on to fairly strict dress codes for men for work, worship and special occasions. With the white-collar workplace growing increasingly less formal, that has changed, to the point where last year even venerable financial firm Goldman Sachs opted to dress down. Brooks Brothers did work to keep up with the times giving Ralph Lauren his start,tapping Zac Posenas its creative director for women's and leveraging its store networkfor fulfillment well before the pandemic but sales continued to ebb. Before its Chapter 11 filing this year, the brand was briefly owned by U.K. retail giant Marks & Spencer, then bought by Retail Brand Allianceled by Claudio Del Vecchio. The label is now in the hands of mall owner Simonand brand management firm Authentic Brands Group, which snapped it up at its bankruptcy auction for $325 million.

Lord & Taylor is the oldest department store in the U.S. or make that was. The once innovative retailer weathered all sorts of challenges in nearly two centuries, expanding from a fashion hub in New York to a chic suburban destination for stylish middle-income women across the U.S.Arguably what it couldn't get beyond was the lack of attention from parent Hudson's Bay Co., which sold off key properties and finally the retailer itself, to apparel rental site Le Tote. All the while HBC lavished $250 million on a renovation of its other New York-based department store, Saks Fifth Avenue. The Le Tote tie-up was strange, but did seem to be the first time in a while that Lord & Taylor had an owner interested in its future. Alas, the pandemic cut short whatever plansLe Tote had in store, beyond the early signs of integration in some locations. Without a buyer and now in bankruptcy, Lord & Taylor is in the midst of liquidatingentirely. Its New York City flagship on Fifth Avenue, once famous for its holiday windows, is being converted intoan East Coast tech office for Amazon.

Morris Modell opened his first store on Cortlandt Streetin lower Manhattan in 1889, and the retailer stayed in the family for four generations, eventually expanding to more than 150 locations on the East Coast. After filing for bankruptcy in March, the company has permanently shut all stores and as of press time says it's still unable to take online orders. The company came to depend mightily on local teamsdoing well in big games in order to move merchandise, a tricky situation for a sector also competing with Amazon. With CEO Mitchell Modell, Morris's great-grandson, at the helm, the company turned to consultants for restructuring advice more than once, but ultimately wasn't able to overcome the troubled market, which also felled rivals Sports Authority and Sport Chalet.

The temporary outdoor cafe at Bergdorf Goodmanat 58th and 5th in New York is a sign of hope for the city, where streets remain strikingly empty of tourists, office workers and shoppers as the pandemic continues its disruption. The department store, founded in 1899 by a tailor who was later joined by his apprentice, was acquired in 1972 by Neiman Marcus, which reportedly promised thennot to open a competing flagship in the city (a promise later broken, if only fleetingly, when Neiman Marcus closed its Hudson Yards store after barely a year in operation). Bergdorf has never strayed from its luxury focus and maintains a high level of loyalty. Post-bankruptcy, both Neiman and Bergdorf unleashed a waveof layoffs, however, in part to redirect focus to e-commerce.

James Cash Penney built his first dry-goods store in Wyoming in 1902, but there are few retailers whose fate is so closely tied to the rise and fall of the American mall. Anchoring a mall was a boon in the 1960s when it represented progress, economic expansion and prosperity. But it's a very different story today, and Penney has struggled for years to get customers through the door. In the past decade, during an endless turnaround, the company welcomed four CEOs in turn, and even its bankruptcy has been a slow and painful grind. Its deal to sell its operations to developers Simon Property Group and Brookfield Property Partners is seen by some observers as a desperate attempt by those mall owners to salvage downstream leases, rather than a true sign of hope.

Neiman Marcus opened in 1907 with one store in Dallas, founded by Herbert Marcus and his sister, Carrie Marcus Neiman, and established itselfon the forefront of fashion, acquiring New York's Bergdorf Goodman in 1972. The founding family ceded control of the business in the 21st century, and a couple of leveraged buyouts, one in 2005 and the next in 2013, heaped on a massive debt load, eventually nearing its $5 billion or so in annual revenue. This year's bankruptcy filing came as little surprise, but the company exited fairly smoothlyin a matter of months. The department store previously shrank its Last Calloff-price banner to focus on luxury, which it says it can do even online, thanks to a robust digital effort. It leaves bankruptcy with a smaller footprint, including the closure of its year-old namesakeflagship at Hudson Yards, its first in New York. With a pandemic ongoing, the economy in recession and the department store sector in decline, however, its future remains cloudy.

Stein Mart was founded in 1908 by Sam Stein and became known asan off-price department store with a mission to provide "the customer with unique quality products at excellent prices." At the start of 2020,Kingswood Capital Management agreed to acquire the Jacksonville, Florida-based retailer and take it private.That came about two years after the company signaled it was exploring "strategic alternatives," following plummeting sales every year since fiscal 2016. But while Stein Mart was moving to improve merchandise, reduce inventory and cut costs, things started to unravel.As COVID-19 hit the U.S. this spring,the takeover was canceleddue to "unpredictable economic conditions"and "uncertainty regarding Stein Mart's ability to satisfy the conditions to closing." By mid-July the virus was surging in locations like California, Texas and Florida home to nearly 40% of its stores. In August the company filed for Chapter 11 with plans to liquidate its stores. As of October, the retailer has closed its e-commerce operations, is selling off store fixtures and is promoting up to 80%off its lowest ticketed prices.

While the apparel company was known as "Popular Merchandise" at its founding and employed an in-home sales model, it became a catalog mainstay after its name change to J. Crew in 1983. Its high-water mark came in that decade and into the nineties, when "preppy" was not just for country clubs and country day schools. But the 21st century would mark its downfall. J. Crew CEO Mickey Drexler developed Old Navy for Gap when he led that American fashion icon,and in 2004 snapped up Madewell's dormant intellectual property(once a New England workwear manufacturer, itself founded in 1937) to forge a similar growth plan for J. Crew. But too many stores in too many malls, a huge pile of debt, and J. Crew's wild departure in fashion and quality (under creative chief Jenna Lyons) drained profits and tanked sales. The company went in and out of bankruptcyin just a few months this past summer, but faces a long uphill climbamid uncertainty about J. Crew's ability to right itself, and its healthier but smaller brand's capacity to grow.

Kaarin Vembar contributed to this story.

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8 legacy retailers that wound up in bankruptcy this year - Retail Dive

RAVENSWOOD Band of Bohemia is closing its doors after filing for bankruptcy and a tumultuous few months for the Ravenswood gastropub.

The gastropub and restaurant, which opened in 2015 at 4710 N. Ravenswood Ave. and has been lauded as the first Michelin-starred pub in the country, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy Oct. 16, court records show.

Band of Bohemia is more than $1.3 million in debt and has property assets of about $223,000, according to court records.

The pub owes money to more than 10 companies and contractors for items such as ice, tea, wine, kegs, linen, artwork, membership dues and plant rentals. The owners also owe almost $1,000 to Swedish Covenant Hospital for a hospital bill, records show.

Documents also show that the pub owes $100,000 in rent and taxes to Megara Properties, which is being disputed.

Co-founders Michael Carroll and Craig Sindelar could not be reached for comment, but they told the Chicago Tribune in an email that the pandemic has forced them to close and file for bankruptcy. The Tribune first reported the brewpubs closing.

Scott R. Clar, an attorney with Crane, Simon, Clar & Goodman representing the restaurant owners, declined to speak about the case but said it shouldnt be surprising that a brewpub and restaurant like Band of Bohemia is closing during a pandemic.

Carroll and Sindelar opened Band of Bohemia after a long career in the restaurant industry. Sindelar was part of the opening team behind Alinea, Chicagos only three-star Michelin restaurant, according to the pubs website. Carroll was also part of Alineas service team as a food runner and back waiter before becoming the restaurants only baker in Alineas 10-year history. Sindelars personal accolades include the 2006 Jean Banchet Best Sommelier and the 2007 Mobil Travel Guide Best of the Best Service Award.

But the last year has been difficult for the pub, aside from the pandemic that has hit the restaurant industry hard. A slew of anonymous allegations published on Instagram alleged former chef Ian Davis engaged in sexual misconduct and alleged owners failed to prevent a toxic work environment and mishandled operations and relief funds. As the allegations surfaced, the restaurant temporarily closed at the end of June to reflect on our faults, our deaf ears and the feelings of those who we have caused harm, according to a since-deleted Instagram post.

Following misconduct claims, in February 2019, Davis resigned as chef at Michelin-starred restaurant Entente.

In a now-deleted Instagram post from July 10 that was also shared on Facebook, Band of Bohemia owners said in a statement that the allegations against ownership were false, misleading and out of context.

Carroll and Sindelar wrote that the team has always followed strict guidelines regarding fairness in the workplace, adhered to equal opportunities when hiring and listened to all sides of a story or allegation before making any irreversible decisions.

At no time in our existence as a brewpub have we neglected the welfare of our staff, who have remained the backbone of our establishment since opening our doors, the statement reads. We cannot begin to assume the reasoning behind these few employees allegations against our business, but hope we can reach a point of mutual understanding in the future.

The owners went on to say that contrary to allegations of not paying employees on time and improperly distributing GoFundMe relief funds, all employees were paid in full and all funds were properly distributed. But laid-off anonymous employees alleged the owners were not transparent in how they distributed the money.

We apologize to our staff and guests who may have read these allegations and have found themselves confused or angry, as we share the same feelings, the owners continued. To anyone who we have unintentionally caused pain or grief, we are deeply and immeasurably sorry.

Accusations of misconduct against the restaurants management first broke in 2019, according to Chicago Eater, when at least eight women came forward to speak up about their experience toward former chef Davis, saying he acted sexually inappropriate with women in several incidents. One incident was allegedly caught on video.

Court records show Band of Bohemia is liquidating items ranging from office supplies and computer equipment valued at $10,000; kitchen and brewery equipment valued at $160,000 and artwork by Logan Square artist Elizabeth Weber worth $1,000.

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Band of Bohemia, Nation's Only Michelin-Starred Gastropub, Closes After Filing For Bankruptcy - Block Club Chicago

A medical worker wearing a mask walks near the AMC movie theater in Times Square amid the coronavirus pandemic on May 7, 2020 in New York City.

Alexi Rosenfeld | Getty Images

AMC has agreed to sell as many as 15 million shares of its stock, but equity in the company could soon be worthless if the largest theater chain in the world files for bankruptcy.

On Tuesday, AMC continued to warn investors about its dwindling cash pile and said it may have to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy if it is unable to secure additional sources of liquidity.

Shares of the company tumbled more than 11% on the news. AMC's stock, which has a market value of around $387 million, has plunged 56% so far this year.

Chapter 11 bankruptcy would likely allow AMC to stay in business while it reworks its debts and sorts out new lines of liquidity.

Movie theater chains in the U.S. have been slammed by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which first shuttered theaters and then drove away customers and major Hollywood blockbusters.

AMC was particularly vulnerable because of the more than $4.75 billion in debt it had amassed before the crisis from outfitting its theaters with luxury seating and from buying competitors such as Carmike and Odeon. AMC has around 1,000 theaters and more than 11,000 screens globally.

"We will require significant amounts of additional liquidity and there is substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern for a reasonable period of time; holders of our Class A common stock could suffer a total loss of their investment," the company wrote in the SEC filing.

While New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo gave movie theaters hope over the weekend when he announced that theaters outside of New York City could reopen. Studios had told movie theater operators that they would withhold major releases if New York remained closed.

Also on Tuesday, AMC released a preliminary earnings report. The company said it had earned around $119.5 million in revenue during the three-month period ended Sept. 30. That's a steep fall from the $1.32 billion AMC tallied during the same period last year.

For the first nine months of 2020 AMC took in revenue of $1.08 billion, a fraction of the $4.02 billion it garnered during the same period last year.

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AMC warns bankruptcy is on the table as cash runs low - CNBC

One of the biggest worries that people have, when they are filing for any kind of bankruptcy, is the possibility of losing their vehicle. The fear of losing a car often holds people back from filing for bankruptcy, and its easy to understand why.

For most debtors, keeping a reliable car is crucial after bankruptcy, whether you need it to take your kids to school, to drive to work or to drive your parents or loved ones to and from doctors appointments. And lets be real, Broward County does not have the best public transportation. Luckily, there are a number of options out there for keeping your car during and after your bankruptcy case has been filed.

The722 redemption processis an excellent option that enables you to decrease the amount of money that you owe on your car. During a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you can undergo a722 redemptionprocess, which enables you to decrease the balance of your car loan to the current market value of the car or vehicle. This is a great opportunity, since most cars have depreciated well below what is owed on the vehicle loan.

During the722 redemption process, you seek out a court order that enablesyou to pay your loan company one big payment that is aroundthe current value on the market foryour car, meaning that if your car loan is $30,000 and the market value of the car is only $18,000, then the722 redemption processenables you to pay off and fully own your car by giving the loan company a lump sum of $18,000. One problem with this is that most people going through bankruptcy do not have enough money to pay off their car. Another option is to find a company that works on 722 redemptions, who can finance the lump sum payment for you.

722 redemption loans are available through a number of different sources, including banks and credit unions. You can also get a personal loan through family, friends or relatives. Keep in mind that most 722 redemption loans have very high-interest rates, so it is crucial to review the terms of the 722 redemption loan to figure out whether the decreased loan balance is still a good option if the interest rate is increased. Its probably still a good idea is the reduced loan balance is low enough to reduce your monthly payments and the payment period.

You need to apply for a 722 redemption loan or get a loan from family or friends before a motion is submitted to the court. The loan company will simply review your situation to figure out if they are willing to provide you with a 722 redemption loan. If you are approved for the loan, then a 722 redemption motion will be filed in court.

The bankruptcy code enables you to pay one huge paymentto get your personal property, usually vehicles, back from a secured lien holder. You need to pay the retail value of the personal item in one lump sum, rather than over a long period of time. While the 722 redemption process is usually used for cars, the process can also be used for electronics, jewelry and furniture. Unfortunately, you cannot use redemption to reduce the value of your home. The process only applies to personal property, not real estate.

Under 11 USC 722 of the Bankruptcy Code, you cangettangible personal property, like your car or laptop, backby paying a lump sum to a secured creditor. The secured creditor then needs to release the lien held on the secured personal property. In order for the 722 redemption process to apply, the property needs to be tangible personal property used mainly for household, personal or family use, including cars, household furniture, household appliances, jewelry and tools. The property must be paid off in a lump sum payment, based on the current retail value. For cars, this retail value is offeredby NADA, Kelley Blue Book or Edmunds.

You need to apply for a 722 redemption loan if you want to get your car back during a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The interest is usually higher since the risk for the lender is higher. Once you have received the loan and are in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, a motion is filed in court to redeem the vehicle. If the court grants the motion, then the secured creditor is paid a lump sum amount based on the current retail value of the car. The secured creditor then needs to release the lien held on the car.

Keep in mind that your loan company might not agree with the basis of your valuation and might choose to object to the motion by filing an answer that outlines the basis for their objection. It is crucial that you submit evidence supporting the basis for figuring out the value of your car. It might be helpful for you to includea copy of the valuation that outlines all of the features of yourvehicle and mileage.

If you need to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcyand are considering using the722 redemption process to retain your vehicle or other personal property, the Van Horn Law Group can help here.

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How Does The 722 Redemption Process Work In Bankruptcy? - South Florida Reporter

Anna Helhoski, NerdWallet

Student loan borrowers who seek to have their debt canceled in bankruptcy what's known as discharge typically find it an expensive process with standards that can be difficult to meet. But recent bankruptcy court rulings and lawmakers' support of relief for overburdened borrowers may signal a change is coming.

In January, a New York court discharged over $200,000 of student loan debt for one borrower. Then, in August, a federal appeals court ruling eliminated $200,000 for a Colorado couple who held 11 private student loan accounts. And inSeptember, a New York judge ruled to enforce a prior bankruptcy discharge of a borrowers $400,000 of federal student loans that a servicer had failed to carry out.

These decisions could serve as a precedent for future bankruptcy cases involving student loans, says John Rao, an attorney with the National Consumer Law Center.

"A lot of people, even some of the lawyers who represent consumers, thought for years that you really shouldnt even try because there's not a chance youll win, but I think everyone is looking at it now with sort of a fresh look," Rao says.

Courts arent the only example of potentially easing standards. The House of Representatives recently took up a bill that would expand bankruptcy relief to more student loan borrowers. And the platform of former Vice President Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential candidate, included a bankruptcy reform proposal to end rules that make it "nearly impossible" to discharge private student loan debt.

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Is Student Loan Discharge in Bankruptcy Now Within Reach? - Mooresville Tribune

Photographer: Alessia Pierdomenico/Bloomberg

Photographer: Alessia Pierdomenico/Bloomberg

Over half of Europes small and medium-sized businesses say they face bankruptcy in the next year if revenues dont pick up, underscoring the breadth of damage wrought by the Covid-19 crisis.

One in five companies in Italy and France anticipate filing for insolvency within six months, according to a McKinsey & Co. survey in August of more than 2,200 SMEs in Europes five largest economies. Such businesses are key to the region, accounting for more than two-thirds of the workforce and more than half of the economic value-added.

The pandemic has hit European firms hard, with 70% reporting lower revenues. That level was even higher in Italy and Spain, reflecting the severity of the virus and lockdown measures in those countries.

About four in five European SMEs think the economy is weak

Source: McKinsey survey

Theres little optimism, with the vast majority describing the economy as weak. Thats leading to worries about loan defaults and the need for layoffs. The governments of all the surveyed nations have now announced further support for jobs in efforts to limit unemployment amid a resurgence of the virus.

Before it's here, it's on the Bloomberg Terminal.

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Half of Europes Smaller Businesses Risk Bankruptcy Within Year - Bloomberg