WPRI Reports - Final Chapter for Borders Books. Watch Video...
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
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Monday, July 18, 2011
The Broke and The Beautiful
3:04 PM
MrDebtBuster
This week their column showcased actress Eva Longoria, Rapper 50 Cent, R Kelly and of course, the LA Dodgers.
According to the column, "Eva Longoria may be playing a town mayor in her new movie, but the “Desperate Housewives” actress was on the other side of the bench Wednesday. According to Vegas Inc., attorneys for creditors Mali and Ronen Nachum—who have been battling Longoria’s Beso LLC for money—responded to the closure of Beso’s Eve nightclub by picking up some dance moves of their own, in the form of an emergency motion for a trustee for the business. The Nachums say that a trustee could review Beso’s financial records and see whether it made sense to close Eve, noting the closure of the business’s “most important asset” is a big concern for Beso’s feasibility.
But Beso isn’t the only one on the roulette wheel this week. Las Vegas’s “original celebrity chef,” André Rochat, filed for Chapter 11 protection along with his restaurants located at the Palms Casino Resort and the Monte Carlo. As Bankruptcy Beat reported, Rochat’s Alizé and Andre’s took on too much debt while the economy tanked. Next on the menu: finding a way to reorganize.
Rapper Young Buck found 50 Cent in the club this week—the bankruptcy-court club. Bankruptcy Beat reported earlier this week that 50 is fighting his former protégé’s bankruptcy-exit plan, querying as to just how Young Buck will manage his business affairs post-bankruptcy. Unfortunately, it looks like it’s too late in the game for Young Buck and his former mentor to bond over a bottle of bub.
A bottle full of bubbly is just what R. Kelly might need, though. As Developments reported, the hip-hop artist might lose his mansion to foreclosure. But R. Kelly isn’t the only hip-hop artist to be trapped in the financial closet. (See Chamilionaire and Xzibit, for example.) As Developments noted, all of this brings up questions on such artists’ inner thoughts about debt obligations and the economy".
To read the entire article or to subscribe to the new Wall Street Journal Column, visit their website.
Borders: Fate After Filing Bankruptcy TBD This Week
2:53 PM
MrDebtBuster
Borders, which helped pioneer the big-box bookseller concept and once operated more than 1,000 stores before shrinking to its current 400, last week assigned the opening bid in its auction process set for Tuesday to two liquidation firms, Hilco Merchant Resources and Gordon Brothers Group. The move came after a bid fell through from private-equity firm Najafi Companies that could have kept the chain a going concern. Creditors and landlords said liquidation was a better deal.
If no other bids materialize, the auction will be canceled and a final court approval hearing on the liquidators' bid will be held Thursday.
Borders spokeswoman Mary Davis had no commit on the bidding process.
If Borders liquidates, it will be a "sad day in book publishing's history and will do severe and lasting damage to the industry's ecosystem," said Simba Information senior trade analyst Michael Norris.
"There are so many people who buy a small number of books in a given year that the absence of a nearby store that they like can really curb how much they buy," he said. "They won't go to another store or online like flicking a switch."
The disappearance of Borders would likely hurt e-book sales as well, since some e-book readers visit bookstores to see what books they might like to read before buying the electronic version for their e-book reader, Norris added.
In addition, the loss of Borders stores would deal a big blow to malls nationwide, according to real estate sources.
Borders' move to close 228 stores while it reorganized in bankruptcy protection already increased the collective vacancy rate of shopping centers that contained a Borders to 9.3% from 4.2%, estimated Chris Macke, senior real estate strategist at CoStar Group, the nation's largest provider of real estate data. He calculated the liquidation of the rest of the chain could increase the vacancy rate on that same basis to 18.8%. Borders stores average about 25,000 square feet, about half the size of a football field.
While some of the space vacated by Borders has been filled with stores like Best Buy, Dick's Sporting Goods and Books-A-Million, or broken up to accommodate several smaller merchants, leasing has been slow, real estate analysts said. The dumping of 400 stores could further slow any new development of what's known as "power centers," which house supersized stores, says John Bemis, head of Jones Lang LaSalle's retail leasing team.
That would hurt the ability to fill them quickly, Bemis added.
Borders filed for bankruptcy protection in February. The company started with a single store in 1971, and helped pioneer the book superstore concept along with larger rival Barnes & Noble. It was brought down by heightened competition by discounters and online booksellers, as well as the growth in popularity of electronic books. It currently operates about 400 stores, down from its peak in 2003 of 1,249 Borders and Waldenbooks, and has about 11,000 employees.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
The Most Famous Bankruptcies of 2011
9:05 PM
MrDebtBuster
While the question of "who" holds the title of the most infamous bankruptcy of 2011 could be disputed; one fact is not up for dispute, four successful celebrities filed bankruptcy this year. In fact, for one of these celebrities this is the second time they have filed bankruptcy.
Toni Braxton
Please don't take the Grammys! The six-time Grammy award winner is making headlines as her six Grammy Awards may be sold to cover her bankruptcy debt. It has been reported that Braxton owes $125,000 to creditors and that the trustee overseeing her bankruptcy liquidation could in fact seize and sell any property covered by the agreement including her awards.
Toni Braxton is not a stranger to the process, she has filed bankruptcy not once, but twice. Braxton blamed her reported debts of between $10 million and $50 million on health problems and was forced to cancel a Las Vegas run because of heart problems and then revealed that she had lupus which limited her ability to work. Health related bills have been cited as the number one reason for most bankruptcy filings.
Sonja Morgan
Sonja is the former wife of John Adams Morgan of the whole J.P. Morgan lineage. She is also a Bravo celebrity appearing on the Real Housewives of New York throwing fabulous parties and not wearing pants.
She claims to be worth $20 million but has debts totaling about $19.8 million.
Eva Longoria
She might not be a real life Desperate Housewife, but Eva Longoria is desperate to save her business interests. Longoria filed for bankruptcy as a “preemptive measure” to protect her restaurant and night club, Beso, from a lawsuit brought by a business partner.
Lenny Dykstra
Earlier this month Dykstra was indicted by a Federal Judge for bankruptcy fraud and theft. Prosecutors say that he either sold, destroyed or removed a stove, chandelier and other items totaling $400,000 from his $18.5 million home after filing for bankruptcy.
He is also accused of lying about the value of his estate so that he could keep profiting while hiding assets from the bankruptcy courts. According to his now former attorney Mark Werksman, “He didn’t belong in bankruptcy, he had a problem dealing with the trustees dismantling his property and investments.”
Toni Braxton
Please don't take the Grammys! The six-time Grammy award winner is making headlines as her six Grammy Awards may be sold to cover her bankruptcy debt. It has been reported that Braxton owes $125,000 to creditors and that the trustee overseeing her bankruptcy liquidation could in fact seize and sell any property covered by the agreement including her awards.
Toni Braxton is not a stranger to the process, she has filed bankruptcy not once, but twice. Braxton blamed her reported debts of between $10 million and $50 million on health problems and was forced to cancel a Las Vegas run because of heart problems and then revealed that she had lupus which limited her ability to work. Health related bills have been cited as the number one reason for most bankruptcy filings.
Sonja Morgan
Sonja is the former wife of John Adams Morgan of the whole J.P. Morgan lineage. She is also a Bravo celebrity appearing on the Real Housewives of New York throwing fabulous parties and not wearing pants.
She claims to be worth $20 million but has debts totaling about $19.8 million.
Eva Longoria
She might not be a real life Desperate Housewife, but Eva Longoria is desperate to save her business interests. Longoria filed for bankruptcy as a “preemptive measure” to protect her restaurant and night club, Beso, from a lawsuit brought by a business partner.
Lenny DykstraEarlier this month Dykstra was indicted by a Federal Judge for bankruptcy fraud and theft. Prosecutors say that he either sold, destroyed or removed a stove, chandelier and other items totaling $400,000 from his $18.5 million home after filing for bankruptcy.
He is also accused of lying about the value of his estate so that he could keep profiting while hiding assets from the bankruptcy courts. According to his now former attorney Mark Werksman, “He didn’t belong in bankruptcy, he had a problem dealing with the trustees dismantling his property and investments.”
Crystal Cathedral Bankruptcy | Opens Door to More Offers
8:51 PM
MrDebtBuster
The cathedral requested and received a partial withdrawal from a plan that would make developer Greenlaw Partners LLC, the main bidder for the 35-acre church campus. The plan, which the church withdrew, also entitled Greenlaw to a "break-up fee" of $920,000 if outbid.
Crystal Cathedral Ministries is considering several proposals from buyers. Church board members say they will favor a proposal that offers the highest price and gets creditors paid right away.
Crystal Cathedral's attorney, Attorney Marc Winthrop, said the church's board needs time to analyze a handful of proposals that are before it. He said the board is no longer looking favorably at Greenlaw's proposal.
"The church is focused on getting the maximum amount of money for the property and getting creditors paid in full on the effective date," he said.
Winthrop said that while Greenlaw's proposal does not satisfy those issues, other proposals that are now before the church board do.
An attorney for Greenlaw, who spoke briefly before the judge, opposed the cathedral's partial withdrawal from the plan citing procedural issues.
Gwyn Myers, a church board member, said she and other trustees are considering several proposals. She did not give a number, but said there were fewer than 10 proposals before them.
Nanette Sanders, the attorney representing the creditors committee, said the committee supports the church's withdrawal from the plan and their willingness to consider proposals other than Greenlaw's.
In a court filing, the committee favored a proposal by Chapman University last week. The university, which hopes to set up a health sciences satellite campus on the property, also offered $46 million for the campus, allowing the church to lease back its core buildings with the exception of the Welcome Center at $150,000 a month for a 15-year-term.
The Chapman plan would also allow the church to repurchase the ministry buildings at $23.5 million and get creditors paid in full on the effective date. But under this plan, the cathedral would lose the Welcome Center right away and the Family Life Center in two years. The university would use those buildings to get its programs and classes started.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange has also expressed interest in purchasing the church property. The Catholic Church has not yet made a formal offer. But Winthrop said last week that if the cathedral is sold to the Catholic Church, Crystal Cathedral Ministries will cease to exist on the campus.
The Roman Catholic Bishop filed an opposition Monday to the cathedral's motion to approve bidding procedures, saying that the procedures were unfairly tilted in favor of the Crystal Cathedral.
In its court filing, the Roman Catholic Bishop stated that the procedures allow the Crystal Cathedral's administrators, the Schuller family, to unilaterally reject offers – even those that may be beneficial to the estate and the creditors.
Click Here to read more from The Orange County Register.
