All articles tagged with #bankruptcy
Berkeley’s Tippett Studio, the effects house behind Star Wars and Jurassic Park, is closing and holding a three-day fire sale as part of Chapter 11 proceedings, auctioning off models, posters, gear and props (including an Imperial Walker) with public hours Aug. 28–30 at 914 Grayson St. in Berkeley.
A Houston bankruptcy court ordered First Brands Group into liquidation under Chapter 7 after rejecting a restructuring plan to fund a litigation trust with senior lenders to pursue about $25 billion in pre-bankruptcy claims, finding multiple bankruptcy-law defects and stating there was nothing left to reorganize, with junior creditors likely to bear losses as the company winds down.
LIV Golf’s first era closed in Indianapolis as funding from the PIF waned and insiders flagged bankruptcy as a likely path forward; with Scott O’Neil seeking new investors and stars like DeChambeau and Rahm weighing future commitments, the league’s 2.0 remains uncertain amid DP World Tour tensions and a shift toward a leaner, less extravagant model, following Michael La Sasso’s finale win.
Red Lobster is reviving its Endless Shrimp promotion for a limited time as part of a restructuring and comeback led by CEO Damola Adamolekun, with stronger financial discipline and market-based pricing. The spring run validated the updated model (including five shrimp flavors and a dine-in focus with pricing that varies by market), and the chain plans broader operational improvements and the closure of underperforming locations as it pursues what it calls a major restaurant-industry comeback.
China’s Shenzhen court advanced Evergrande’s bankruptcy case in a move seen as narrowing the sprawling crisis, handing founder Xu Jiayin (Hui Ka-yan) a life sentence and ordering confiscation of his assets. Hong Kong-based liquidators are pursuing about $7.7 billion in Evergrande-linked assets and $8.4 billion from PwC over its role in auditing Evergrande’s finances, with authorities previously finding the group overstated revenue by roughly $80 billion in 2019–2020. PwC has faced fines, while creditors are expected to recover only a small fraction of what is owed, suggesting a fading but still costly saga for China’s property sector.
A federal bankruptcy judge in Houston reduced the damages owed by Alex Jones and his media company InfoWars to $1.5 million as part of ongoing bankruptcy proceedings, lowering prior civil-award amounts tied to Sandy Hook-related lawsuits; Jones attended the hearing as the court weighs creditor payouts against keeping the company afloat.
Columbia House, the iconic mail-order music club famous for its 12-for-a-penny offer, is winding down its music operations after a long run that began in 1955 and peaked in the 1990s with millions of members. The company shifted to DVDs after 2009, filed for bankruptcy in 2015, and has since persisted in various ownerships—now announcing that, after September 15, 2026, it will no longer accept new orders. The piece reflects on the ads, the allure of a personal music library, and the harsh lessons about fine print and cancelation built into the club’s business model.
Hayden Panettiere’s on‑again, off‑again boyfriend Brian Hickerson filed for bankruptcy in July 2022, listing about $60,000 in debts against roughly $25,700 in assets and reporting $1,248 in monthly expenses with essentially no income; his assets included a Bronco, an inoperable Prius, a Harley, and a Silverado, with the truck reportedly in his name but owned by his father. The filing followed a history of domestic-violence arrests—culminating in a 2021 plea to two felony counts and a five-year restraining order—details the piece ties to his relationship with Panettiere, who was later found unresponsive in an incident connected to their life together.
Google won a bankruptcy auction to acquire Spirit Airlines’ internal records—including roughly 100 million emails, 500 million Teams chats, 17 million OneDrive files, 20 million SharePoint items, and 516 code repositories with about 30 million lines of software—for $10 million, with federal court approval still required. A third party will anonymize PII before transfer, and Google will not receive customer or credit-card data or attempt to identify individuals. The dataset, which also covers flight operations, pricing, crew schedules, and IT workflows, could help train AI that performs workplace tasks, though extracting value from such sensitive communications is complex. Spirit ceased operations earlier this year after a second Chapter 11 bankruptcy, underscoring a growing market for failed startups’ internal data for AI training.
Columbia House, the longtime mail-order music club famous for penny promos, will stop taking new orders after September 15, 2026, effectively winding down the business. Customers can still buy books with credits, but the company’s music operation has long since faded after a 2015 bankruptcy and era of changing ownership.
Columbia House, the 1955 mail-order music club that later pivoted to DVDs and Blu-rays, will shut down on September 15, 2026. Once a powerhouse with millions of members, the business faded as big-box retailers and piracy reshaped the industry; after a 2015 bankruptcy and a failed vinyl-pivot, the remaining online catalog is winding down.
Google is paying $10 million to acquire Spirit Airlines’ data—emails, internal communications, bookings, frequent-flyer information and HR records—that have been de-identified for AI training; Google says no personal information will be provided. Mercor.io bid $7.5 million, and a bankruptcy judge will rule on the sale, a rare move for a bankrupt airline.
As LIV Golf pivots from PIF funding to new investors, contractors and vendors report unpaid invoices ranging from thousands to nearly $100,000, with some pursuing legal action. The league is exploring a funding deal with BC Partners to extend operations beyond 2026 amid talks of a potential restructuring or bankruptcy, while a transition to a new “LIV 2.0” structure looms.
LIV Golf canceled its planned 2026 Michigan championship, making the Indianapolis event (Aug. 20-23) the de facto season finale; amid loss of funding from the PIF, potential bankruptcy, unpaid contractors, and a pending PGL lawsuit, LIV’s future is uncertain as star players depart and talks with the PGA Tour/DP World Tour surface.
Google won a bankruptcy auction to acquire Spirit Airlines’ enterprise data—about 100 million emails and 500 million Microsoft Teams chats plus related documents—for roughly $10 million. The data will be deidentified before transfer and used to train its AI models, with no passenger profiles or personal data included; federal judge approval is required. If the deal falls through, the next highest bidder was Mercor at $7.5 million.