In Re Appraisal Of DFC Global Corp., Consol. C.A. 10107-CB (July 8, 2016)
This decision deals with the always difficult world of what beta to use in a DCF valuation. The Court’s analysis is an exhaustive review of the alternative approaches and is particularly helpful in valuing a publicly traded company in some financial turmoil.
On Friday, May 15, 2015, Golden County Foods, Inc. (“GCF”), a business that manufactures prepared foods, filed a voluntary chapter 11 petition in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. It was joined by two affiliates, GCF Franchisee, Inc. (“GCFF”)and GCF Holdings II, Inc. (“Holdings”). The cases are docketed as case no. 15-11062 and have been assigned to The Honorable Kevin Gross.
On May 8, 2015, Airborne Media Group, Inc. filed a voluntary chapter 11 petition in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The voluntary petition was filed after several creditors commenced an involuntary chapter 11 case in Colorado on April 17, 2015. The chapter 11 case has been docketed as case no. 15-11018 and has been assigned to The Honorable Kevin Gross.
A just-issued Court of Chancery decision clarifies, and possibly expands, creditors' rights. In 2007, the Delaware Supreme Court ruled that a corporation's creditors may sue its board of directors for violating its fiduciary duties, but only after the corporation became insolvent, in North American Catholic Educational Programming Foundation v. Gheewalla, 930 A.2d 92 (Del. 2007). While creditors continued to be unable to sue directly, Gheewalla did permit them to file derivative suits in those circumstances.
On May 4, 2015, one of the largest for-profit post-secondary education companies in the United States and Canada, Corinthian Colleges, Inc., and 24 of its affiliates, filed voluntary chapter 11 petitions in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The cases are docketed as case no. 15-10952 and have been assigned to the Honorable Kevin J. Carey. The petition lists assets of approximately $19.2 million and liabilities of $143.1 million.
On April 19, 2015, Frederick’s of Hollywood, Inc., a well-known retailer of women’s lingerie, filed for chapter 11 protection in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. In addition to the petition filed by Frederick’s, petitions were filed by five other related entities. The cases have been assigned to The Honorable Kevin Gross, and are docketed as case no. 15-10836.
On April 7, 2015, Everyware Global, Inc. and 12 affiliates filed a prepackaged chapter 11 case in Delaware. Affiliates include such names as Oneida, Anchor Hocking, Kenwood Silver, Sakura and Universal Tabletop. The case is docketed as case no. 15-10743 and has been assigned to the Honorable Laurie Selber Silverstein. A chapter 11 plan and disclosure statement has been filed with the petition.
On April 6, 2015, Northwest Missouri Holdings, Inc. and three affiliates, filed voluntary chapter 11 petitions in Delaware. The three affiliates are Oregon Farmers Mutual Long Distance Inc., The Oregon Farmers Mutual Telephone Company and South Hold Cablevision, Inc. As of this post, only the petition is on file. The case is docketed as case no. 15-10728 and has been assigned to The Honorable Brendan Linehan Shannon.
The realities of the bankruptcy venue provisions require potential debtors and their advisers to prudently weigh the legal significance of a bankruptcy filing in various courts. In a recent decision, U.S.