The Distressed Debt Alert

MiddleBrook Pharmaceuticals Files Chapter 11

Westlake, Texas-based MiddleBrook Pharmaceuticals filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The company markets antibiotics such as Moxatag, an FDA-approved once daily amoxicillin product; Keflex, the immediate-release brand of cephalexin; and the proprietary drug delivery technology Pulsys.

Sam Zell's Equity Group Investments purchased $100 million worth of MiddleBrook's stock in September 2008.

The company had also secured a $10 million, two-year line of credit from Silicon Valley Bank in June 2009.

Source: Press Release

Odyssey Petroleum, a Canadian-owned oil and gas company, said its Puckett, Miss.-based U.S. subsidiary filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Odyssey said in a statement that it's negotiating with several lenders to secure debtor-in-possession financing.

Source: Press Release

US Concrete filed a prepackaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy after reaching an agreement with a majority of its bondholders to restructure its debt.

The Houston-based company said its proposed plan of reorganization will reduce its subordinated debt by about $272 million. The company also seeks approval of an $80 million debtor-in-possession credit facility to be led by JP Morgan.

The reorganization plan calls for an exchange of US Concrete's 8.325% senior subordinated notes due in 2014 for equity in the reorganized company. Existing shareholders would receive warrants to acquire 15% of the equity of the reorganized company.

US Concrete said the bankruptcy is not expected to affect suppliers, customers or employees, as the company expects operations to continue as usual. The Chapter 11 process is expected to be complete within 90 days.

Source: Press Release

A fund managed by Oaktree Capital Management is expected to take a majority stake in Almatis Group, under a prepackaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan by the maker of specialty alumina products.

Almatis said its plan is supported by holders of almost 75% of its senior debt. The company expects to present the plan to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York by early June.

Almatis said it has about $85 million to meet operating expenses and may seek debtor-in-possession financing if necessary.

Source: Press Release

Gordon Brothers Group, a Boston-based advisory, restructuring and investment firm specializing in the retail, industrial, real estate and consumer products sectors, named Stewart L. Cohen as chief operating officer.

Cohen, who joins the firm May 10, will be part of the executive and senior management team focusing on transaction origination, structuring and execution.

Cohen was previously an executive vice president of special assets at Textron Financial, where he was part of a senior team managing billions of dollars worth of loan wind-downs and asset dispositions, Gordon Brothers said. Before joining Textron, Cohen was chairman of Polaroid, where he was responsible for the wind-down of the film business, and founded and managed Paragon Capital and the Ozer Group.

Source: Press Release

A consortium of private equity and financial firms won a bidding war and will purchase the Philadelphia Newspapers out of bankruptcy for $135 million, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The group of investors, including Alden Global Capital, Angelo, Gordon & Co., Credit Suisse and Venor Capital Management, beat out bids from investment firm Stern Partners and another from a group led by billionaire Ron Perelman and his father Raymond Perelman.

Source: News Story

The outlook is stable for the credit ratings of real estate investment trusts that invest in multifamily housing properties, Moody's Investors Service says.

Fundamentals for the sector remain negative, however, although there are some signs of improvement, according to Moody's. The credit rating agency said in a report that rents are showing signs of increase, and vacancy levels are beginning to decline.

Of the nine multifamily REITs that Moody's rates, seven have stable ratings outlooks and two have negative outlooks.

Source: Press Release

T-Rex Capital Group said it's returning to the commercial real estate market, after selling most of its assets in 2005 and 2006 and ceasing investment during the economic collapse.

The firm said in a statement that it will invest in off-market transactions, undervalued real estate, complex financial restructurings, distressed equity and debt sales, inefficiently capitalized assets, public REIT recapitalizations, strategic partnerships and other value-added plays.

T-Rex completed two recent transactions. It purchased a $35 million mezzanine debt position in a 609,000 square-foot building leased by the federal government's General Services Administration in Washington, D.C., and purchased a B note for a 450,000 square-foot, Class A office building in Tysons Corner, Va.

Source: Press Release

Invesco Ltd. said it held a final closing for its $1.46 billion Mortgage Recovery Fund, which will buy mortgage-backed securities and loans that are eligible for the government's Public-Private Investment Program.

The fund is managed by three of the company's investment teams, Invesco Fixed Income, Invesco Real Estate and WL Ross & Co., the distressed investment affiliate of Invesco.

Invesco was selected by the U.S. Treasury Department last year as a pre-qualified fund manager to participate in the Legacy Securities PPIP program.

Source: Press Release

American Mortgage Acceptance Co., a real estate investment trust that invests in commercial and multifamily housing mortgages, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Reuters reported.

The REIT listed $6.4 million in assets and $120 million in liabilities in court documents. The company had owned assets worth $666.4 million in 2007.

Source: News Story

A bankruptcy court hearing to consider the bidding process for the sale of real estate investment trust General Growth Properties was postponed until May 4 to give the company more time to negotiate with its two major bidders, Simon Property Group and Brookfield Asset Management.

The bidding procedures were previously scheduled to be taken up at a court hearing this Thursday. That meeting will go forward as planned to consider other matters.

Source: Press Release