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Chicago Sun-Times – The Chicago Reader, the local alternative weekly, is now under the control of Atalaya Capital Management, a New York-based hedge fund with no previous experience running newspapers.
At a bankruptcy auction in Tampa on Tuesday, Atalaya successfully bid $5 million for the Reader and five other alternative weeklies that comprise the Tampa-based Creative Loafing Inc. alternative newspaper chain. Atalaya beat out Creative Loafing CEO Ben Eason for control of the six newspaper properties.
Creative Loafing got into debt trouble when it borrowed roughly $40 million in 2007 to buy the Reader and the Washington (D.C.) City Paper — $30 million of it reportedly from Atalaya. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September 2008.
Lexington Herald-Leader – A bankruptcy judge agreed Tuesday to postpone a hearing on a hedge fund’s request for the appointment of an examiner in horse track owner Magna Entertainment’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy case.
At the request of attorneys, a hearing originally scheduled for Tuesday on the request by Greenlight Capital Offshore Partners was postponed until Aug. 18.
CNBC – Attorneys for a hedge fund are asking for the appointment of an examiner in horse track owner Magna Entertainment’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy case.
A hearing was scheduled Tuesday on the request by Greenlight Capital Offshore Partners, which wants an investigation of ties between Magna and its parent company, known as MID.
MID has played a dual role as both a potential bidder for MEC assets and one of its primary lenders.
Greenlight, an unsecured creditor of Magna as well as a large shareholder in MID, is concerned about the fairness of any asset sale.
Reuters – General Growth Properties Inc GGP.N, the second largest U.S. mall owner, on Thursday filed for bankruptcy protection on Thursday, making it one of the biggest real estate bankruptcies in U.S. history.
Ending months of speculation, the Chicago-based mall owner which listed total assets of $29.557 billion and total debts of $27.294 billion, sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection from creditors along with 158 of its more than 200 U.S. malls, while it seeks to restructure some of its debt.
Reuters – U.S. private equity firm TPG has expressed interest in providing debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing for Aleris International Inc, a company it bought in 2006, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters.
The private equity firm wasn’t able to participate in an original round of DIP financing because of technical reasons, but expressed interest in the secondary DIP, the source said.
Aleris, a maker of aluminium products, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last month.
The Financial Times reported earlier that TPG asked the judge in the Aleris bankruptcy case to allow it to join a group offering the DIP facility. The source that spoke to Reuters, however, said that TPG had not asked the court or judge to intercede.
West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.net) - Morrison & Foerster LLP is announced the election of ten new lawyers into their partnership, including specialists in venture capital, hedge funds, bio-technology, patents, corporate transactions and chapter 11 bankruptcy, among others. Their election is effective January 1, 2009.
“We have elected an exceptional group of lawyers to the partnership. This year’s newly elected partners reflect continued investment in our distinguishing practice strengths and our international reach,” said Keith Wetmore, Chairman of Morrison & Foerster. “Our new partners have demonstrated a commitment to client service and legal excellence. We are confident that they will make tremendous contributions to our clients’ success and our Firm’s progress in the years ahead.”
Elected as Partner Thomas M. Devaney, a member of the Business Department, will be resident in the New York office. Devaney specializes in private equity fund formation and investment, representing a variety of domestic and international private equity funds, including real estate funds, venture capital funds, and debt funds, in addition to hedge funds with a broad range of investment strategies.
The other lawyers elected as Partners are; Anders T. Aannestad, Jonathan Bockman, Christopher B. Eide, James M. Halstead, Rebekah Kaufman, David E. Melaugh, James J. Mullen III, Ph.D., Norman S. Rosenbaum, and Ivan G. Smallwood, a resident in the Tokyo office.
