Canada

An attempt by an ad hoc group of disgruntled shareholders to derail the takeover of Canwest Global Communications Inc. is “misguided” and their petition for a re-auction of the broadcaster’s assets “must be rejected,” declared the Winnipeg-based company in a court filing, the National Post reported.

The newspapers owned by CanWest Global Communications Corp. have received approval from creditors on a plan to emerge from restructuring, The Globe and Mail reported. The company’s unsecured creditors met in downtown Toronto on Monday morning, and an overwhelming majority voted for the plan: 97.36 per cent of the votes cast were in favour. Last week, in preparation for the meeting, the plan for the newspaper division was modified so that the new company would emerge from creditor protection with less debt.

Canwest Global Communications Inc., the Canadian media company in bankruptcy protection, agreed to pay as much as C$7.5 million ($7.1 million) to settle a group suit by freelance writers who claimed republication of their work on the Internet broke copyright laws, BusinessWeek reported on a Bloomberg story. Because the company is in bankruptcy protection, the writers will be allowed to file a claim for the settlement amount and share in the distribution to creditors, either in cash or shares of a new company, said Peter Osborne, lawyer for Canwest’s management directors.

Two noteholders are protesting AbitibiBowater Inc.'s bid to hold a rights offering, saying the move is unnecessary and could actually be detrimental to the newsprint manufacturer and its creditors, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. Aurelius Capital Management and Contrarian Capital Management LLC - as well as Wilmington Trust Co., which serves as the indenture trustee of the notes - are objecting to the company's request to auction off the rights to fund its exit from bankruptcy. In papers filed Monday with the U.S.

Noveko International Inc. says its subsidiary Magnum Pharmaceutics Inc. has voluntarily filed for bankruptcy, the Winnipeg Free Press reported on a Canadian Press story. Since its acquisition in 2008, Magnum has generated "considerable losses and debt" due to its inability to carry out its business plan, Montreal-based Noveko said Friday. With no improvement in sight, Noveko said it decided not to inject any more funds in Magnum and will instead focus on its own growth objectives.

Great River Journey, a First Nations tourism venture that sold $1,000-a-day wilderness tours on the Yukon River, has been given more time to come up with a bankruptcy protecton plan, CBC News reported. Yukon Supreme Court Justice Leigh Gower granted Great River Journey, which filed for bankruptcy protection last month, 45 more days to work out a plan. The company has more than $10 million in debts, and it is seeking $2.5 million to relaunch, president George Asquith said Monday.

AbitibiBowater Inc, the world's largest newsprint maker, plans to emerge from bankruptcy with a simplified structure so it can take on the challenge of declining demand, its chief executive said on Tuesday, Reuters reported. The Montreal-based company said on Monday it has the support of unsecured creditors for a reorganization plan that would swap unsecured debt for equity. Post-bankruptcy, the company would have consolidated its debt with the parent company, eliminating debt that was issued by dozens of U.S.

AbitibiBowater Inc. is seeking the green light from a U.S. bankruptcy judge to rework its accounts-receivable securitization facility to take advantage of improving business conditions, a move the company says will save it millions of dollars in the coming months, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. The Canadian paper maker, which sought bankruptcy protection more than a year ago to restructure its crushing debt load, says it can save $4 million over the next five months by reworking the securitization program with a group of banks led Citigroup Inc. and Barclays Capital Inc.

Planet Organic Health Corp. is set to be acquired by its principal creditor, the Edmonton-based natural and organic products retailer said Friday. Planet Organic received bankruptcy protection last month under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act when more than $31.1 million in debt was called in by Catalyst Capital Group Inc., the Edmonton Journal reported. The Toronto private-equity firm, which invests in distressed companies, had bought the debt from Ares Capital Corp. in April.

Newfoundland and Labrador struck out for a second time Tuesday in its efforts to force AbitibiBowater to pay for a costly environmental cleanup, The Canadian Press reported. Quebec Court of Appeal Justice Jacques Chamberland denied the province's request for leave to appeal a ruling by Quebec Superior Court Justice Clement Gascon. "It is my view that the province's application raises no issue which satisfies the test for granting leave to appeal under CCAA (Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act)," he wrote.