The Wall Street Journal analyzes the challenges and prospects of Gamestop Corp., AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc., Bed Bath & Beyond Inc., Nokia Corp., and Blackberry Ltd. In recent weeks, investors have bid up the share prices of these companies, as hedge funds and short sellers have bet against them. [WSJ; Jan. 31, 2021]
CNBC reports that slow rollout of the vaccines and more contagious strains of Covid-19 may threaten investor outlook that have been buoyed by optimism about a swift economic recovery. A possible K-shaped recovery may see companies of certain type and size start to recover while leaving out low-income families, and companies in the airline, restaurant,
The New York Times reports that the National Rifle Association (“NRA”) filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States Bankruptcy Court in Dallas with plans to reincorporate in Texas. The New York attorney general’s office has been conducting an investigation into corruption at the NRA and has been seeking to dissolve the group.
As reported in Yahoo Finance, the first trading day of 2021 was off to a rocky start in the U.S. Despite progress on COVID vaccine distribution, markets reacted to the discovery of a highly transmissible strain of COVID in the US, which comes with a greater risk of lockdowns, along with uncertainty surrounding the
Reporting from S&P Global shows that from January 1, 2020 through December 13, 2020, there were 610 commercial bankruptcy filings by public and private entities with at least $2 million in reported assets or liabilities at the time of the bankruptcy filing. Entities in the consumer discretionary, industrial, energy, and healthcare industries made up over
The Wall Street Journal reports on the growth of dividend recapitalization transactions during the COVID-19 pandemic by private equity controlled companies. That growth stands in contrast to prior economic downturns. [WSJ; Dec 17, 2020]
Reporting from Yahoo Finance addresses the growing control that investment firms and hedge funds exert over commercial restructuring efforts as a
AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. announced that it is exploring financing alternatives to address the financial strain on the company resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, including an at-the-market sale of 178 million shares, reports The Street. This announcement comes after Walt Disney Co. announced that approximately 80% of its new content in 2021 would be
Business Insider reports that AMC Theaters recently sought to raise up to $844 million through stock sales to improve its financial condition, which has been substantially weakened due to restrictions on indoor gatherings put in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. AMC’s stock price took a major hit after Warner Bros. announced it would
Reuters reports that the Brazilian government will forgive approximately US$1.3 billion worth of debt owed to it by telecommunications firm Oi SA, which has been involved in a pending bankruptcy proceeding in Brazil since 2016. [Reuters; Nov. 27, 2020]
Reporting from Bloomberg indicates that boutique apparel chain Francesca’s Holdings Corp. is preparing to file for
Bloomberg reports that Revlon Inc. was able to exchange approximately $236.5 million of its $343 million in outstanding bonds that were scheduled to mature in 2021 in a deal that the company said should eliminate the need for a chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in the near future. [Bloomberg; Nov. 11, 2020]
The Washington Post reports