Beleaguered seafood chain Red Lobster is seeking a buyer as it looks to avoid filing for bankruptcy.
The company has considered filing for bankruptcy to help it restructure its debt and get out of a number of costly and lengthy leases, but it’s also sought a buyer in recent months, people familiar with the matter told CNBC.
At least one firm had been interested in buying the chain, but a deal never came to fruition.
It’s unclear how the chain will ultimately resolve its financial woes. Red Lobster could secure a buyer, it could declare bankruptcy or its lenders could take control of the company.
Even if Red Lobster finds a buyer, it would be hard for it to avoid filing for Chapter 11 as it is trying to get out of many leases and those contracts can be difficult to break outside of bankruptcy, the people said. Bloomberg first reported that Red Lobster was mulling a Chapter 11 filing last week.
For the past decade amidst ownership changes, Red Lobster has taken on debt and entered into a number of long-term leases across its 700-plus locations, which have weighed on its balance sheet.
The broader casual-dining segment has struggled for roughly two decades in competition with fast-casual chains like Panera Bread and Chipotle Mexican Grill. The pandemic exacerbated the issue, particularly hurting full-service restaurants like Red Lobster.
The seafood chain has also struggled from some self-inflicted wounds, most notably its disastrous “endless shrimp” promotion. Last year, it changed the offer from once a week to daily to boost slower sales in the second half of the year.
But the offer juiced business too much as diners sought cheap deals, pressuring Red Lobster’s bottom line. As a result, Red Lobster reported $11 million in losses in the fiscal third quarter and $12.5 million in losses the following quarter.
The Supreme Court cleared the way on Thursday for a $2.4 billion plan to settle sex abuse lawsuits against the Boy Scouts of America to go forward. The court’s brief, unsigned order gave no reasons, which is typical for emergency applications. There were no public dissents.
The Boy Scouts settlement involves more than 82,000 claims of childhood sexual abuse, with more than 86 percent of victims in the case backing the deal.
However, the group who asked the Supreme Court to intervene objected to the use of the mechanism, which protected from liability third parties like churches involved in scouting, local councils and insurers.
The outcome in the Boy Scouts case had been closely watched as a possible clue of where the justices might lean in the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy settlement. During oral arguments in December, the justices appeared divided, and a decision in that case is expected by the end of the court’s term, likely in late June.
The victims’ group, in asking the court to step in, argued that if the settlement were allowed to proceed, sexual abuse victims “will lose their right to pursue their claims independently of the bankruptcy settlement trust.”
The Boy Scouts had argued that the settlement should continue as planned, warning that if the justices blocked the deal, it would “threaten to throw the scouting program into chaos.”
The challengers represented “a tiny fraction” of the victims involved in the deal, the Boy Scouts said.
After Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. temporarily paused the settlement earlier this month, the bankruptcy judge overseeing the case suspended work on the deal, which has already paid about $8 million to several thousand victims.
On Thursday, after the court announced its decision, the trust handling the settlement said it had “resumed all operations, including processing and paying claims.”
Rudy Giuliani filed for bankruptcy in New York after being ordered to pay $148 million in damages to two Georgia election workers.
The former New York Mayor has also listed more than $500 million in debt while racking up millions in legal fees.
The attorney who led the effort to overturn the 2020 election has been swamped my mounting legal issues.
Last Friday, he was put on the precipice of financial ruin when a jury awarded $148 million in damages to Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss for claiming they tried to rig the vote for Joe Biden.
In August he admitted having 'financial problems' as he battled multiple court cases and said he didn't have enough money to defend himself.
In the filing, Giuliani said he had between $100 million and $500 million in liabilities and $1 million to $10 million in assets.
Giuliani said he owed $148 million to Ruby Freeman and Wandrea Moss, the two former Georgia election workers.
The filing also listed President Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden, as a creditor, without specifying the amount Giuliani owed him. Hunter Biden in September sued Giuliani for violating his privacy over data allegedly taken from his laptop.
Giuliani listed the Internal Revenue Service and New York State Department of Taxation and finance among his creditors.
Rite Aid has filed for bankruptcy protection and plans to sell part of its business as it attempts to restructure while dealing with losses and opioid-related lawsuits.
The company said Rite Aid stores will continue to fill prescriptions, and customers will still be able to visit its locations or shop online while it goes through its voluntary Chapter 11 process. But that process also will allow it to speed up its plan to close underperforming stores.
Going through Chapter 11 will help “significantly reduce the company’s debt” while helping to “resolve litigation claims in an equitable manner,” Rite Aid late Sunday.
Rite Aid Corp. said in its federal bankruptcy filing that it runs more than 2,000 stores. Most of its locations are on the East and West Coasts.
The Philadelphia company, which is marking its 60th year in business, has posted annual losses for several years and has been cutting costs and closing stores as it dealt with long-standing financial challenges. It has said it expects a net loss of as much as $680 million in the current fiscal year, which will end next spring.
The company, like its rivals, also faces financial risk from lawsuits over opioid prescriptions. Rite Aid already has reached several settlements, including one announced last year with the state of West Virginia for up to $30 million.
In March, the U.S. Justice Department intervened in a whistleblower lawsuit brought by former employees under the False Claims Act. Federal officials said in a statement that the drugstore chain filled “at least hundreds of thousands” of illegal prescriptions for drugs including opioids.
Rite Aid called the government’s claims “hyperbolic” in a subsequent motion to dismiss. The company said facts alleged in the case actually showed it exceeded regulatory requirements for diversion control.
Drugstores also have been dealing with several issues that frustrate customers. They’ve handled prescription drug shortages, and they have struggled to fill their stores with enough pharmacists and technicians to run the pharmacies. Rivals CVS and Walgreens both have dealt with walkouts by pharmacy employees concerned about their growing workloads and lack of help.
The stores also have had to weather tight prescription reimbursement and waning COVID-19 vaccine and testing business in recent quarters. Plus online competitors like the retail giant Amazon have hurt sales of consumer goods found outside the pharmacy areas of their stores.
Rite Aid’s larger competitors like CVS and Walgreens, which each run several thousand more locations, have moved more aggressively into health care, opening clinics and adding other sources of revenue.
Deutsche Bank analyst George Hill said in an August note that Rite Aid operates on a much thinner profit margin than its competitors and while it can pay costs to service its debt, it won’t be able to cover principal payments “based on the current trajectory of the business.”
The company’s filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New Jersey listed $8.6 billion in total debts and $7.6 billion in assets.
Rite Aid said Sunday that it had reached an agreement with some key creditors on a financial restructuring plan to cut its debt. The company also said it obtained $3.45 billion in fresh financing from some of its lenders, which will help support the company through the Chapter 11 process.
Rite Aid says it does not know yet which stores it will close, but it will transfer workers to other Rite Aid locations where possible.
Article credited by the Associated Press
Bankman-Fried has also stepped down as CEO and has been succeeded by John J. Ray III, though the outgoing chief will stay on to assist with the transition.
Approximately 130 additional affiliated companies are part of the proceedings, including Alameda Research, Bankman-Fried’s crypto trading firm, and FTX.us, the company’s U.S. subsidiary.
In the 23-page bankruptcy filing obtained by CNBC, FTX indicates it has more than 100,000 creditors, assets in the range of $10 billion to $50 billion, as well as liabilities in the range of $10 billion to $50 billion. By comparison, Lehman had more than $600 billion in assets and Enron had $60 billion.
“The immediate relief of Chapter 11 is appropriate to provide the FTX Group the opportunity to assess its situation and develop a process to maximize recoveries for stakeholders,” said the new FTX chief, Ray.
“The FTX Group has valuable assets that can only be effectively administered in an organized, joint process. I want to ensure every employee, customer, creditor, contract party, stockholder, investor, governmental authority and other stakeholder that we are going to conduct this effort with diligence, thoroughness and transparency,” continued Ray.
He added that stakeholders should understand that events have been fast moving, that the new team is engaged only recently and that they should review the materials filed on the docket of the proceedings over the coming days for more information.
It caps off a tumultuous week for one of the biggest names in the sector.
In the space of days, FTX went from a $32 billion valuation to bankruptcy as liquidity dried up, customers demanded withdrawals and rival exchange Binance ripped up its nonbinding agreement to buy the company. FTX founder Bankman-Fried admitted on Thursday that he “f---ed up.”
Anthony Scaramucci, founder of SkyBridge Capital and short-time Trump communications director, flew to the Bahamas this week to help Bankman-Fried as an investor and friend. When Scaramucci got there, he says, it appeared beyond the point of a simple liquidity rescue. He said he didn’t see evidence of this mishandling when he and other investors first screened FTX as a potential business partner.
“Duped I guess is the right word, but I am very disappointed because I do like Sam,” Scaramucci said Friday morning on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “I don’t know what happened because I was not an insider at FTX.”
An FTX spokesperson did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on this story, including on Scaramucci’s remarks.
In a short period of time, FTX expanded into non-crypto elements of life, such as pop culture. For example, in the past Super Bowl, it aired a commercial featuring comedian Larry David, in which David turned down an opportunity to invest in crypto. “Ehh, I don’t think so. And I’m never wrong about this stuff. Never.”
Bed Bath & Beyond filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April 2023 after it failed in several last-ditch efforts to raise enough money to keep the company alive.
The beleaguered home goods retailer has been warning of a potential bankruptcy since early January, when it issued a “going concern” notice that it may not have the cash to cover expenses after a dismal holiday season. Shares of the company closed at 29 cents Friday, giving it a market value of $136.9 million. The stock is down about 88% this year. Last April, it was trading around $20 a share.
The company’s 360 namesake stores and 120 Buybuy Baby locations will remain open for the time being as it begins to close the business and liquidate assets. But it has filed motions in New Jersey bankruptcy court asking permission to auction the two brands, the company said in a release. It has already committed to closing all of its Harmon FaceValue stores.
As of late November, Bed Bath had about $4.4 billion in assets and $5.2 billion in debts, court filings show. Alongside a long list of creditors, including vendors like Pinterest, Keurig and Blue Yonder, it owes the most to BNY Mellon at $1.18 billion, the documents show. It has between 25,001 and 50,000 total creditors and employs about 14,000 non-seasonal workers, court filings say.
Bed Bath has been hanging on by a thread since January but has refused to go down without a fight. It secured what was then-considered a Hail Mary stock offering in early February that was expected to infuse more than $1 billion in equity into Bed Bath, but the plan faltered and brought in only $360 million, the company said.
At the end of March, Bed Bath announced another stock offering it hoped would bring in $300 million, but that news sent the share price tumbling and it struggled to raise the funds it hoped the offering would provide. As of April 10, the company had sold approximately 100.1 million shares and raised only $48.5 million.
In filings, the company warned if it didn’t raise the anticipated proceeds from the offering, it would likely have to file for bankruptcy protection.
Days after the second stock offering was announced, Bed Bath said it had partnered with liquidator Hilco Global to boost its inventory levels. Under the agreement, Hilco subsidiary ReStore Capital agreed to buy up to $120 million in merchandise from the company’s key suppliers after relationships with Bed Bath’s vendors soured because of its liquidity issues.
However, the plans ultimately proved futile.
The retailer has struggled to maintain relationships with its vendors and has been grappling with low inventory levels, lagging sales and a rapidly dwindling cash pile.
Going into the holiday season, Bed Bath had difficulty keeping its shelves stocked and because of its liquidity issues, some vendors began asking for prepayments, the company said in securities filings.
In late March, the company reported preliminary results for its fiscal fourth quarter, with net sales of roughly $1.2 billion and comparable store sales declining in the range of 40% to 50%. The company noted negative operating losses have continued, although it said it hadn’t depleted its free cash flow.
The company reported $2.05 billion in revenue for the fiscal fourth quarter of 2021.
Article taken from CNBC.com
Trucking company Yellow is preparing to file for bankruptcy, according to people familiar with the matter, heightening the threat that one of the nation’s largest freight carriers will shut down as customers abandon it amid a cash crunch and union negotiations.
A bankruptcy filing by Yellow would put it at high risk of a liquidation since its customers already have started to abandon the trucker in large numbers, some of the people said. The company could seek bankruptcy court protection as soon as this week, though no decision has been made and Yellow continues to explore other options, they said.
A Yellow representative said Wednesday that “in keeping with the fiduciary responsibility of the company’s executives, the company continues to prepare for a range of contingencies.”
Yellow has been losing thousands of shipments to other operators because of the risk that a labor dispute will disrupt its operations, according to equity analysts and industry executives. The company averted a planned strike this week by the Teamsters union that represents most of its workforce, but the customer exodus has continued. Yellow has seen freight volumes fall 80% in recent days, according to a research report Tuesday by TD Cowen.
“The Teamsters introduced variability and uncertainty into a market that can’t stand variability and uncertainty,” said Mike Regan, chief of relationship management at TranzAct Technologies, which manages transportation services for retailers and manufacturers.
The company is continuing to negotiate with the Teamsters about a new contract that would give Yellow the ability to restructure its operations to make them more efficient, Yellow’s representative said.
A bankruptcy filing would again spotlight the $700 million Covid-19 rescue loan that Yellow received from U.S. taxpayers in 2020. A congressional probe later concluded that the Treasury Department erred in giving the loan on national-security grounds when Yellow didn’t meet the standards for that designation.
Nashville, Tenn.-based Yellow has $1.3 billion in debt maturities next year, according to securities filings. Earlier this month, the company negotiated an agreement with lenders including the Treasury Department and Apollo Global Management that gave it some breathing room by temporarily suspending required earnings targets.
Of the $1.3 billion in loans the company has coming due next year, $729 million are from the government, according to Yellow’s latest quarterly report. The company reported about $1.48 billion in total debt at the end of the first quarter against $806 million in assets.
Yellow’s liquidity problems have mounted this year as declining shipping demand has cut into freight volumes and sent rates falling. Its cash holdings fell to around $100 million at the end of June from $235 million at the end of December.
The carrier sought this spring to institute a widespread overhaul of operations to lower costs and make its businesses more efficient. That triggered a series of sharp exchanges between the Teamsters and Yellow, which last month sued the union for allegedly costing the company business.
The union said Sunday that it had withdrawn plans for a walkout after a pension fund agreed to continue to extend health benefits to unionized workers at Yellow and a sister company. The pension fund said it would give Yellow another 30 days to make some deferred payments.
If customers pull back further from Yellow, the company’s remaining shipments would go to a range of other carriers, including FedEx Freight, ArcBest subsidiary ABF Freight, XPO and Old Dominion Freight Line. That would likely drive up pricing in a sector that has seen freight rates and demand tumble this year, according to industry experts.
Personal bankruptcy filings have fallen dramatically since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, but with interest rates rising and government relief waning, filing numbers will likely pick up through this year, say experts.
Bankruptcy attorney David Leibowitz, head of Chicago-based Lakelaw, said his firm has “already seen filings in the Chicago area pick up by about 25% in the last two months.”
The variety of government stimulus programs, enhanced tax credits and protections against evictions and loan foreclosures put in place in the last two years have reduced the number of bankruptcy filings.
Bankruptcy may feel like rock bottom for financially strapped Americans, but it is also a new start and an opportunity to get out of hole that only seems to get deeper for many.
“If you can pay off your debts outside bankruptcy, you should,” said Leibowitz, a past chairman of the consumer bankruptcy committee of the American Bankruptcy Institute. “However, if your wages are being garnished, your car has been seized and you’re being hounded by collection agencies, bankruptcy may be imperative.”
If you’ve decided bankruptcy is your best option, your first decision is whether to hire a lawyer to help you through the process. You can file with the courts on your own, but the cost of mistakes is high.
What chapter of the code should you file under? What forms do you need to complete? What mistakes must you avoid? Bankruptcy law is complex and while you may save money filing on your own, you could lose much more on the back end.
“People don’t do their own dental work,” Juntikka said. “You need to consult a lawyer.”
What to do
The bankruptcy process involves a series of steps and procedures that have to be followed. The kind of bankruptcy filing you choose will depend on your circumstances.
Chapter 7 bankruptcy filings, which account for a significant majority of personal filings, can ultimately discharge most, though not all, personal debts. Alimony, tax debts and student loans are among the liabilities that may remain for petitioners. Most of your property is subject to seizure and sale, although there are some exemptions, such as retirement account balances.
To qualify for Chapter 7, you have to pass a means test. Essentially, your income must be less than the median income of the state where you file. Otherwise, you have to file under Chapter 13 of the code.
In that situation, some unsecured debts may be forgiven and you may be able to keep some personal property, but it basically creates a debt repayment plan, typically over a five-year period.
Here are individual steps you need to take in a bankruptcy filing:
- Gather the documents you will need, including tax returns, pay stubs, bank, brokerage and retirement account statements, appraisals of real estate and other assets you own, vehicle registrations and any other documents pertaining to debts you owe or assets you own.
- All bankruptcy filers have to complete a credit counselling course both before and after filing. The fee is typically less than $50 and may be waived if you’re unable to pay it.
- Fill out and print the appropriate bankruptcy forms, get your filing fee ($338 for a Chapter 7 filing in federal court), file the forms in court and mail the necessary documents to your appointed bankruptcy trustee.
- Attend the meeting remotely with your trustee. It takes place about a month after your case is filed.
All these steps are essential, and having an attorney can help ensure you don’t make mistakes.
What not to do
The biggest mistake people make in bankruptcy filings is trying to game the system. All your assets may be seized in a bankruptcy and failing to disclose all of them can result in criminal charges
Just ask tennis player Boris Becker, currently looking at jail time in the U.K. for hiding assets. Do not transfer property to family or friends before you file. It will be clawed back.
Also don’t max out your credit resources before you file. The court will not look kindly upon it. Never use funds from retirement accounts to pay off debt.
“Truth and transparency are critical to the bankruptcy process,” said Leibowitz. “Honest debtors get a fresh start, while dishonest ones can potentially go to jail.”
What to do post-bankruptcy
Declaring bankruptcy can feel like the ultimate failure, but there is life after bankruptcy. Leibowitz advises clients to take the following steps to get their lives back in order:
- Establish a budget you can stick to.
- Open a savings account and save a month’s worth of income to provide a financial cushion for unexpected expenses.
- Get a secured credit card and use it only for expenses you can pay off at the end of the month.
- Pay your rent and bills on time.
- Check your credit report regularly to make sure no debts discharged in bankruptcy remain outstanding on your profile.
If you follow a disciplined plan, you can quickly improve your credit profile and even be eligible for a Federal Housing Administration mortgage in as little as three years.
“There is such a stigma associated with bankruptcy,” Leibowitz said. “But the idea of rehabilitation and forgiveness is baked into our constitution.
“Bankruptcy can give people a second chance.”
Cosmetics giant Revlon filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Wednesday evening as it grappled with a cumbersome debt load and a snarled supply chain.
The company said it expects to receive $575 million in debtor-in-possession financing from its existing lender base, which will help to support its day-to-day operations.
The filing “will allow Revlon to offer our consumers the iconic products we have delivered for decades, while providing a clearer path for our future growth,” Revlon President and Chief Executive Officer Debra Perelman said in a press release issued Thursday morning.
“Our challenging capital structure has limited our ability to navigate macro-economic issues in order to meet this demand,” Perelman added.
Revlon’s bankruptcy filing said the company is currently unable to timely fill almost one-third of customer demand for its products, due to an inability to source a “sufficient and regular supply of raw materials.” Shipping components from China to the United States takes Revlon eight to 12 weeks and costs four times 2019 prices, it said.
Revlon is the first major consumer-facing business to file for bankruptcy protection in what has been a years long pause of distress in the retail sector. More than three dozen retailers filed for bankruptcy in 2020, marking an 11-year high, which experts say was an extensive and Covid pandemic-driven pull-forward of restructuring activity.
Now, however, as inflation rages, interest rates rise and consumers begin to pull back spending on discretionary items, experts predict more retail companies will be pressured to restructure. Particularly as many of these businesses grapple with ongoing supply chain challenges that have left them with the wrong inventories.
The nail polish and lipstick maker, which is controlled by billionaire Ron Perelman’s MacAndrews & Forbes, listed assets and liabilities between $1 billion and $10 billion, according to a filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.
Revlon had long-term debt of $3.31 billion as of March 31, a securities filing shows. The company’s market cap was nearly $123 million as of the close of trading Wednesday. Trading of Revlon shares was halted in Thursday’s premarket session.
Its sales of about $1.9 billion in 2020 were down 21% from 2019 levels. Though the business rebounded in 2021, Revlon’s revenue is still below pre-pandemic levels.
Start-ups including Glossier, Kylie Jenner’s Kylie Cosmetics and Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty have also challenged Revlon as it vies for younger consumers’ dollars.
Revlon could use its time in bankruptcy proceedings to prune its portfolio, given it owns numerous brands, some of which are performing better than others, said David Silverman, a retail senior director at Fitch Ratings.
“If executed effectively, Revlon could emerge from bankruptcy with a cleaner balance sheet and a better operating profile, improving longer term business prospects,” Silverman said.
Story originally taken from CNBC.com