Headlines

Venator, the Huntsman spinoff that holds the family-owned business’s former titanium dioxide activities, has filed for protection from creditors under U.S. Chapter 11, Chemanager Online reported. The company, which is U.K.-registered but managed from the U.S. state of Texas, said it hopes to exit chapter 11 within approximately two months. CEO Simon Turner said Venator has reached agreement with the “overwhelming majority” of its lenders and noteholders on the terms of a comprehensive recapitalization plan that would equitize nearly all of its funded debt and strengthen its balance sheet.

The Bankruptcy and Diligence (Scotland) Bill proposes to introduce measures designed to help those in financial difficulty and suffering with mental health problems to get some much needed "breathing space,” Loxology.com reported. The week of 15-21 May 2023 is mental health awareness week in the U.K., and the theme this year is “anxiety.” The Bankruptcy and Diligence (Scotland) Bill ("the Bill") was introduced to the Scottish Parliament in April. It's no surprise that there is a correlation between financial pressures and mental health.

Mediobanca on Monday said it has agreed to sell its bad loan acquisition unit for 100 million euros ($110 million), as Italy's leading investment bank focuses on capital-light businesses ahead of unveiling a new three-year strategy, Reuters reported. Banca IFIS agreed to buy Revalea, a unit Mediobanca set up last year by separating purchasing from management of bad debts. Mediobanca will continue to operate the latter through its MBCredit Solutions unit. It was the second deal announced by Mediobanca in days as it prepares to present a new business plan through 2026 on Wednesday.

It may not pay to fly nice, or to be so trusting — at least, it appears so given the tragic case of Niceair’s bankruptcy due to losing access to its sole aircraft less than a year after its initial flight on May 30, 2022, Simple Flying reported. Niceair — a small virtual airline intended to directly connect European cities like Copenhagen and Tenerife to northern Iceland’s Akureyri — used a single Airbus A319-100 in 9H-XFW operated by Hi Fly Malta, and Hi Fly Malta operated the 150-seat A319 on Niceair’s behalf with aircrew wearing Niceair uniforms.

Wasps, one of England’s most storied rugby teams and a two-time European champion, must begin rebuilding from the bottom of the country’s league pyramid after having a license to play in the second-tier Championship revoked on Thursday, the Associated Press reported. The club was expelled from the top-flight Premiership after falling into administration — a form of bankruptcy protection — in October amid debts totaling 95 million pounds ($118 million).

U.S.-based Micron Technology Inc. on Monday forecast a hit to revenue in the low-single to high-single digit percentage after a ban by China on sale of its memory chips to key domestic industries marked the latest in the Sino-American trade spat, Reuters reported. China's cyberspace regulator said late on Sunday that Micron, the biggest U.S. memory chipmaker, had failed its network security review and that it would block operators of key infrastructure from buying from the company. It did not provide details on what risks it had found or what products from the company would be affected.

Mizuho Financial Group Inc. will buy U.S. M&A advisory firm Greenhill & Co Inc. for $550 million including debt, the companies said on Monday, as Japan's No. 3 lender eyes a bigger share of the world's largest investment-banking fee pool, Reuters reported. The $15-per-share offer represents a premium of 121% to Greenhill's last closing price. Its shares had dropped nearly 40% over the 12 months till Friday's close as high interest rates weighed on dealmaking activity.