News 
Market Data 
Discover
Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
American Airlines, pilots reach tentative contract
Wed Jun 27, 2012 8:23pm EDT
* Union board asks membership to vote on proposal
* Judge postpones ruling on AMR plan to throw out contracts
* Meetings with flight attendants, mechanics unions next week
June 27 (Reuters) - Pilot union leaders at American Airlines reached a tentative agreement with management on Wednesday on a steep cost-cutting contract aimed at heading off a threat by the carrier to abandon the current deal in bankruptcy and impose stricter terms.
The Allied Pilots Association board voted 9 to 7 to send the last and best offer to its membership for consideration, the union and the company said.
A vote by members is expected in coming weeks, prompting the judge overseeing American's case in New York to postpone a ruling that had been scheduled for Friday on whether to allow the airline to abrogate the pilots' contract, the airline said.
Ratification by pilots would end years of bitter negotiations and introduce a measure of labor stability to American's bankruptcy.
The airline is seeking more than $1.2 billion in cost cuts from its unions annually, a key factor in its decision to seek Chapter 11 protection from creditors last November.
Added certainty from labor would allow the parties to shift focus to American's planned emergence later this year and whether it will do so alone or as part of a merger.
The six-year deal was revisited over the past several days after union board members rejected a previous proposal from American's parent, AMR Corp.
Details of the tentative deal were not released. But proposed terms disclosed over the past few days included $315 million in annual cost savings - down from $370 million - no layoffs, annual pay raises, and a stake in the new company.
The union representing 10,000 pilots had no immediate comment beyond confirming the deal and the board's vote.
American said it believed pilots would carefully consider the proposal, which would be a watershed in the company's restructuring if it is approved.
"We believe this agreement addresses the needs of our pilots while achieving the goals of our business plan, and further demonstrates our commitment to reaching consensual agreements with all of our unions," American said in a statement.
A final agreement by pilots, the most powerful work group, is likely to clear the way for American's flight attendants and mechanics also to reach new contracts. The airline said it would meet with those unions next week.
AMR is under pressure from unions to tie up with US Airways . American has said it would explore consolidation but prefers to exit bankruptcy as a standalone company.
US Airways struck a merger deal with America West in 2005 while still in bankruptcy, but the deal was necessary for its immediate survival.
American's case appears more along the lines of Delta Air Lines and Northwest. The two emerged from their bankruptcies with similar cost structures and then formed a partnership.
American's motion in bankruptcy court to vacate contracts follows a similar pattern by other U.S. airlines that took the bankruptcy route.
Even in cases where carriers won court permission to throw out collective bargaining agreements, they wound up reaching consensual deals with those unions before exiting bankruptcy.
The case is In re AMR Corp et al, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York, No. 11-15463
img]stockcharts.com/c-sc/sc?s=wamuq&p=d&yr=1&mn=0&dy=0&id=p72050223570[/img]
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/28/american-pilots-idUSL2E8HRJZD20120628
Judge approves Dynegy bankruptcy pact with creditors
Fri Jun 1, 2012 3:21pm EDT By Jonathan Stempel
(Reuters) - Dynegy Inc (DYN.N) on Friday won a U.S. bankruptcy judge's approval of a settlement with creditors, putting the power producer's Dynegy Holdings LLC unit one step closer to emerging from Chapter 11 protection.
Chief Judge Cecelia Morris of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York approved the settlement at a hearing in Poughkeepsie, New York. Some creditors this week dropped their opposition to the accord.
Dynegy said creditors who joined the settlement hold more than $2.7 billion of claims against Dynegy Holdings.
The company has said Dynegy and Dynegy Holdings will be combined. It has said unsecured creditors of Dynegy Holdings, including holders of about $3.4 billion of senior notes, would receive a 99 percent equity stake in a reorganized company.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/01/us-dynegy-idUSBRE85019G20120601
TPUTQ 0025 nice chart. 17 milion float.
ENERQ Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (.112) The Company's principal commercial products are its thin-film solar (photovoltaic (PV)) modules. ECD sells its PV modules globally.
Energy Conversion files for bankruptcy protection Shareholders will likely be wiped out.
Tue Feb 14, 2012 11:59am EST
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=72149110&txt2find=ener
Website: http://www.energyconversiondevices.com/
Pinksheets: http://www.otcmarkets.com/stock/ENERQ/quote
IHUB: http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/board.aspx?board_id=6305
img]stockcharts.com/c-sc/sc?s=enerq&p=d&yr=1&mn=0&dy=0&id=p88559068203[/img]
Energy Conversion files for bankruptcy protection
Tue Feb 14, 2012 11:59am EST
* Filing comes amid solar shakeout
* Company plans to sell units separately
* Says 70 percent of bondholders support plan
* Shareholders will likely be wiped out.
Feb 14 (Reuters) - Lightweight solar product maker Energy Conversion Devices Inc filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday, the latest in a string of solar companies that have collapsed in an industry shakeout.
The company, whose filing follows years of losses and months of public discussions with bondholders, said it would sell its United Solar Ovonic unit and other assets in bankruptcy.
Energy Conversion, whose solar laminate products are used for panels on rooftops and buildings, said it would continue to operate during the sale process.
It shares were down nearly 80 percent to about 30 cents in morning trading on Nasdaq. Other solar industry companies were also trading lower. First Solar, for instance, was off 9 percent at $28.11 on Nasdaq, and Suntech Power was down 7 percent at $3.47 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Energy Conversion's failure is the fourth major bankruptcy in the industry in the past year. Evergreen Solar Inc , Solyndra and SpectraWatt have also sought Chapter 11 protection.
Energy Conversion struggled to keep costs down as prices on solar panels fell, due in part to government subsidies to the company's Italian and German rivals. The company temporarily suspended manufacturing of its lightweight solar products last fall and said it would cut 500 jobs. Its bondholders hired advisers last fall as the company's problems worsened.
"Ultimately, their cost structure has been deemed unsustainable for a while, and the effects of the market in 2011 just exacerbated it," said Shayle Kann, a solar analyst with GTM Research.
Energy Conversion filed for bankruptcy in Michigan, where it is based. It said holders of about 70 percent of its $263.2 million of 3 percent convertible senior notes due 2013 support its proposed operating and sales plan.
That plan will essentially keep the flexible, lightweight thin-film photovoltaic product business -- its United Solar Ovonic unit -- operating while shedding debt and other legacy costs. The product is used in roofs and also consumer products, such as a solar cover for Amazon.com's Kindle E-reader. Energy Conversion expects to complete the sale of the unit in 90 days.
The company plans to sell its 39 percent stake in Ovonyx, a semiconductor technology company, other intellectual property and some fixed assets.
It also said it had sold its Ovonic Battery Co, which licenses advanced battery technology, to BASF Corp for $58 million. It first announced that sale process in July.
Its bondholders include Sanders Morris Harris, Angelo Gordon & Co., Diamondback Capital and Wolverine Asset Management, among other creditors, according to court documents.
According to those documents, Energy Conversion had both assets and liabilities in the range of $100 million to $500 million range when it filed for bankruptcy.
In addition to the Chapter 11 filing of the United Solar Ovonic unit, the company also filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case for Solar Integrated Technologies, which does engineering, procurement and construction of solar technology.
The company does not expect to be able to pay back all creditors and said shareholders will likely be wiped out.
The case is in re Energy Conversion, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of Michigan, No. 12-43166.
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=72149110&txt2find=ener
NTRZ Nutrcea (.144) Rice/Food/Nutrition Play. Processing and distribution of stabilized rice bran, Rice Oil, and other proprietary, rice bran-based ingredients and formulations.
Food Manufacturers
Nutraceuticals
Petfood and Feed Manufacturers
Web page: http://www.nutracea.com/Home
Pink Sheets: http://www.otcmarkets.com/stock/NTRZ/quote
IHUB: http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/board.aspx?board_id=6636
chart]investorshub.advfn.com/uimage/uploads/2011/9/27/pqowktechnology.jpg[/chart] chart]investorshub.advfn.com/uimage/uploads/2011/9/27/ushavrbo_new.png[/chart]chart]investorshub.advfn.com/uimage/uploads/2011/9/27/zfsnerice_bran.jpg[/chart]chart]investorshub.advfn.com/uimage/uploads/2011/9/27/omooznutraceacn$814144259.gif[/chart]
chart]investorshub.advfn.com/uimage/uploads/2011/12/26/bipyr263117.jpg[/chart]
NTRZ NutraCea Makes Final Payments Under Plan of Reorganization
Friday, January 20, 2012 8:43:56 AM
(special thanks to the_8th)
NutraCea (OTCQB: NTRZ) (PINKSHEETS: NTRZ), a global leader in the production and marketing of value added products derived from rice bran, today announced final payment of all amounts due to creditors under the terms of its Plan of Reorganization.
The Company confirmed today that it has met all of its obligations under the terms of the Amended Plan of Reorganization approved by the US Bankruptcy Court.
..........W. John Short............ - Chief Executive Officer of NutraCea, stated, "We are pleased to have made the final payments due to all creditors under the Amended Plan of Reorganization. We are proud to have paid in full all of the lenders, suppliers and vendors who supported NutraCea during the entire reorganization process that began with our Chapter 11 filing in November 2009 and culminated in our final payments to creditors at the beginning of this week. No creditor that participated in the court supervised restructuring process lost money doing business with NutraCea.
"NutraCea used the Chapter 11 process exactly as it was intended. Under the supervision of the bankruptcy court, we restructured our business, repaid all creditors in full and protected the interests of the shareholders who invested in NutraCea prior to the bankruptcy filing. I want to offer special thanks to Cary Forrester, bankruptcy counsel who represented NutraCea throughout the proceedings, for his guidance and wise counsel in guiding us through this complex process."
The Company's bankruptcy counsel, S. Cary Forrester, of Forrester & Worth, in Phoenix, Arizona, commented: "This is an extraordinary outcome. In the vast majority of Chapter 11 filings, the pre-petition owners lose most or all of their ownership interests and unsecured creditors receive pennies on the dollar. In fact, according to one study of bankruptcy outcomes, less than 10% of Chapter 11 debtors confirm and complete a plan of reorganization. In this case, NutraCea not only exited Chapter 11 intact and paid all of its debts in full, but it did so in a way that allowed its shareholders to retain 100% of their ownership interests in the Company."
http://ih.advfn.com/p.php?pid=nmona&article=50827947&symbol=NTRZ
AI
