New Chapter 11 Filing - Lombard Public Facilities Corporation

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Lombard Public Facilities Corporation

  • 7/28/17 Recap: Illinois-based not-for-profit corporation formed to finance the cost of acquiring, designing, constructing, and equipping a conference center, hotel (Westin), restaurant and related improvements in the Village of Lombard filed for bankruptcy with a prearranged deal with its creditors. The corporation was funded via revenue bonds (A through C, with the A-2 bonds wrapped by an ACA Financial Guaranty Corporation policy) on the basis of a 2005 market study. Much like we saw with the Chapter 9 filing of The Kennewick Public Hospital District back in June, the study proved to be off the mark and the project has underperformed from the get-go. Some of this was bad timing: the project came online in August 2007: we all know what came shortly thereafter. The convention business the Project depended upon never came, rendering revenues insufficient and debt service payments difficult. Reserves set aside for the bonds were quickly depleted and the Project defaulted on the bonds. The Project enters bankruptcy with the A bonds as the declared fulcrum and a consensual restructuring in hand with each of ACA, holders of a majority of the bonds (here, Nuveen Asset Management LLC and OppenheimerFunds Inc.), and the hotel and restaurant managers, respectively. Taking it as given that Lombard is an "affluent" suburb of Chicago, you have to wonder why people thought this financing was a good idea. Lombard sounds quaint and all - with its annual Lilac Festival and parade - but there's nothing there, far as we can tell, that screams "convention business." Query how many Mom and Pop municipal bond investors are getting burned by this (seemingly) ill-advised financing. 
  • Jurisdiction: N.D. of Illinois (Judge Cox) 
  • Capital Structure: $246.65mm principal and interest municipal debt (Amalgamated Bank of Chicago)   
  • Company Professionals:
    • Legal: Adelman & Gettleman, Ltd. (Henry Merens, Brad Berish, Alexander Brougham)
    • Financial Advisor: EisnerAmper LLP (Thomas Buck, Deborah Friedland, Allen Wilen)
    • Claims Agent: Epiq Bankruptcy Solutions LLC (click on case name above for free docket)
  • Other Parties in Interest:
    • ACA Financial Guaranty Corp.
      • Legal: Greenberg Traurig LLP (Nancy Peterman)
    • Lord, Abbett & Co. LLC
      • Legal: Shaw Fishman Glantz & Towbin LLC (Peter Roberts)
    • Indenture Trustee: Amalgamated Bank of Chicago
      • Financial Advisor: FTI Consulting Inc.

Updated 7/28/17

New Chapter 11 Filing - Marbles Holdings LLC

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Marbles Holdings LLC

  • 2/6/17 Recap: The Chicago-based brainiacs behind the specialty retailer that sells games, puzzles, books and software apparently weren't smart enough to run a sustainable business. Consequently, Marbles Holdings filed a Chapter 11 to find a buyer for certain assets and liquidate the remainder. A proposed sale of IP and a wind-down of the 37 mall-based locations (including one in the ultimate "tourist mall," the World Trade Center, and many others in the, cough, "A Malls" owned by Westfield, Simon Properties, and General Growth Properties) and six in-store concept stores within Macy's will be funded pursuant to a $900k DIP. Choice quote in the first day declaration, "It is likely that other retailers may commence chapter 11 cases in the near term." Ominous. 
  • Jurisdiction: N.D. of Illinois
  • Capital Structure: ~$17.5mm secured debt (Amzak Capital Management, AMPR Marbles Investors LLC)
  • Company Professionals:
    • Legal: Adelman & Gettleman LLP (Howard Adelman, Henry Merens, Erich Buck, Alexander Brougham)
    • Liquidator: Gordon Brothers Retail Partners LLC
    • Investment Banker: Hilco IP Services LLC d/b/a Hilco Streamback
    • Claims Agent: Garden City Group LLC
  • Other Parties in Interest
    • Amzak Capital Management
      • Legal: Holland & Knight LLP (Barbra Parlin)

Updated 2/10/17