Headlines

LyondellBasell Industries AF SCA has joined the bankruptcy proceedings of U.S. affiliate Lyondell Chemical Co. to protect against claims from certain financial and trade creditors, the petrochemical giant announced Friday, Bankruptcy Law360 reported. Read more. (Subscription required.)

The number of Scots declaring themselves bankrupt continues to soar due to a change in the law, The Press and Journal reported. New figures show 5,693 individuals became insolvent in the first three months of the year, up 71% on the same period last year, but down 2% on the previous quarter. These included 3,722 awards of bankruptcy, up 158% on the same period last year, but down 6% on the previous quarter. The remaining 1,971 personal insolvencies were in the form of protected trust deeds (PTDs), up 5% on the same period last year and 7% on the preceding three months.

One of Australia's most extraordinary business stories of the past few decades is the spectacular rise and equally spectacular fall of the ABC Learning Group, analysis by The New Zealand Herald found. ABC began with one centre in Brisbane in 1988. By 2007 it had used hundreds of millions of dollars from taxpayers, shareholders and banks to grow into the world's second-biggest childcare operator with more than 2300 centres in Australia, the United States, Britain, and New Zealand. In 2007, it reported profits of more than $150 million.

Nortel Networks is seeking a three-month extension of bankruptcy protection from creditors owed billions of dollars, The Vancouver Sun reported. Ernst & Young, the court-appointed monitor, said in a document filed with the Ontario Superior Court that the troubled company needs “significant additional time” to work on a restructuring strategy. The monitor’s report shows that the Canadian operations are burning cash at a fast pace, but expect to get more money from international operations soon to strengthen the books.

The Canadian unit of Chrysler may not need to seek bankruptcy protection, even if the company does so in the United States, Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said on Saturday. Flaherty said the automaker's cost-cutting agreement with the Canadian Auto Workers union, announced late Friday, represented a "fundamental change" in the company's efforts to qualify for emergency government loans, Reuters reported. The company must also clinch a partnership with Fiat SpA. "The legal situation may be different in Canada than in the United States.

Creditors of Thom Contractors will have to wait for a judgement to be made before they will know whether there is likely to be anymore money available to pay debts, The National Business Review reported. Thom Contractors, which was owned and operated by Stephen Thom, was first put into receivership in September 2007 and then was liquidated in November 2007. Liquidators PricewaterhouseCoopers began summary judgment proceedings against the director Stephen Thom in relation to his overdrawn current account and for other payments made from company accounts on his behalf.

Almond producer Select Harvests is pushing to buy the almond assets of its collapsed business partner Timbercorp, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. The company has begun talks with Timbercorp's voluntary administrators, KordaMentha, with the initial aim to resume normal operations of the suspended horticulture operations. Select Harvests' directors said all options were on the table, including ``the potential acquisition of Timbercorp's almond assets''.

Fiat SpA's chief executive might swear that he is not trying to build an empire, but he is certainly looking for scale--on the cheap. Sergio Marchionne faces a Thursday deadline to close a landmark deal to form a partnership with ailing U.S. car maker Chrysler LLC but he has already shown an interest in Opel, the German unit of General Motors Corp (GM). News reports also speak about a possible collaboration between Fiat and GM in Latin America, especially Brazil where they both have a strong presence.

A judge has signed off on a deal to allow India-based Sterlite Industries Ltd. to buy bankrupt mining firm Asarco LLC for $1.7 billion, while leaving the door open for Asarco parent Grupo Mexico SAB to file a competing plan, Bankruptcy Law360 reported. Read more. (Subscription required.)

The U.K. government is considering changes to insolvency laws that would help rescue failing companies and bring the U.K. system closer to the U.S Chapter 11-style bankruptcy protection, Dow Jones Newswires reported. The Insolvency Service plans to begin consulting on proposals that would allow struggling companies to access funds to help them get back on track and to provide companies with breathing space from creditors. The consultation process was announced in Wednesday's budget report as part of the government's plans to support U.K. businesses.