On June 30, 2022, Plano, Texas-based mortgage lender First Guaranty Mortgage Corp. (“FGMC”), filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Case No. 22-10584). FGMC reports $500 million to $1 billion in both assets and liabilities.

Celsius Networks (“Celsius”) became the latest cryptocurrency platform to raise market temperatures by halting all withdrawals, swaps and transfers from and between its customers’ accounts on June 12, 2022. Celsius touted a next wave of “unbanking,” operating a lending platform allowing the holders of digital assets the opportunity to earn a significantly high returns on those assets.

With the beginnings of the coronavirus pandemic, 2020 brought an onslaught of retail bankruptcy cases. Lord & Taylor, Ascena Brands, Neiman Marcus and JC Penny, among many others – not less than 52 in total. As the economy recovered from the initial shock of the pandemic, the number of retail bankruptcy cases subsided in 2021. According to reports, there were 21 retail cases in 2021 as retail traffic began returning to pre-pandemic levels. 2022, however, brings new pressures on the global economy, and certain that may strike the retail industry with force.

Given the recent media coverage and growing concerns among investors over the risks associated with a bankruptcy filing of a cryptocurrency exchange, it feels timely to highlight some issues that arose in the Chapter 11 cases of Cred Inc. and certain of its affiliates (collectively, “Cred”).

Stimwave Technologies Inc., a Pompano Beach, Fla.-based medical device manufacturer and provider of permanently implanted neurostimulation products for chronic pain, filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Case No. 22-10541).

Shortly before midnight on June 15, 2022, cosmetic giant Revlon, Inc., along with several subsidiaries, filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (Lead Case No. 22-10760).

On June 1, 2022, Charlotte N.C.-based GT Real Estate Holdings, LLC, the company Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper created specifically for the Panthers new headquarters project in Rock Hill, S.C., filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the Bankruptcy Court for District of Delaware after the deal to develop the new facility collapsed (Case No. 22-10505).

On June 1, 2022, California-based Zosano Pharma Corporation, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company enabling the systemic administration of therapeutics and other bioactive molecules to patients using a proprietary transdermal microneedle patch system, filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the Bankruptcy Court for District of Delaware (Case No. 22-10506).

On June 1, 2022, Houston-based petrochemical manufacturer TPC Group Inc., and several affiliates filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the Bankruptcy Court for District of Delaware to pursue a “prearranged” financial restructuring (Case No. 22-10493).

Unitranche financing began as a middle-market product, tracing its origins to the days of recovery from the global credit crisis. The credit markets re-opened with an explosion of available capital from traditional lenders, business development companies and other direct lenders. With an increasing supply of capital, leverage shifted to borrowers and private equity, allowing them to better dictate the terms and conditions of their loan facilities. With the greater prevalence of so-called “covenant-lite” loans, also came the exponential growth of the unitranche market.