CHK Chesapeake Energy Corporation

By Katy Stech

Dick's Sporting Goods Inc. (DKS) could get official approval from a federal judge to take over Sports Authority's brand name.

Next Friday, U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Mary Walrath is scheduled to look over the sporting-goods retailer's $15 million purchase offer for the intellectual property of its now-defunct competitor, which once operated 450 stores.

Sports Authority employed about 13,000 people at the time that it filed for bankruptcy on March 2, blaming the growth of online sales channels and increased competition in sporting-goods retailing for its mounting losses. It became one of the largest sporting-goods retailers following a merger in 2003 but struggled with debt from a leveraged buyout a decade ago.

The brand names of collapsed retailers can sell for millions of dollars after its stores go dark.

Some investors keep the brand alive online for loyal shoppers, while competitors redirect customers to their own site. Bookseller Barnes & Noble Inc. (BKS), for example, won a 2011 auction for fallen competitor Borders Group Inc.'s intellectual property, offering nearly $14 million. The Borders.com website now redirects visitors to Barnes & Noble's site.

Oil and gas driller SandRidge Energy Inc. (SDOCQ) could get clearance next Friday to send their reorganization plan to the Oklahoma City company's creditors for a vote.

SandRidge officials have asked U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge David R. Jones to look over the company's explanation of how lenders who are owed part of $3.7 billion would trade that debt for a majority ownership stake in the company, which drills for oil and gas in Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas.

The 657-worker company, which has struggled to profit after natural-gas prices crashed, has 4,411 gross producing wells and more than two million gross acres under lease, according to documents filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston. As of Dec. 31, SandRidge Energy had four rigs in operation.

SandRidge was founded in 2006 by Tom Ward, who had previously co-founded Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) with Aubrey McClendon, who died in March.

After leaving Chesapeake, Mr. Ward paid $500 million to take control of a natural-gas producer, which he renamed SandRidge and built into a leading shale producer with a market capitalization of more than $11 billion. Activist investors replaced Mr. Ward a few years ago, after it stumbled during the financial crisis and struggled to recover.

SandRidge Energy officials laid off hundreds of workers prior to putting the company into chapter 11 protection on May 16. It listed assets of $7 billion and debts of about $4 billion in its chapter 11 petition filed with the bankruptcy court.

On Wednesday, a Wilmington, Del., judge could clear oilfield-services provider Seventy Seven Energy Inc. (SSEIQ) to get out of bankruptcy.

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Laurie Selber Silverstein is scheduled to look over the reorganization plan for the struggling Oklahoma company, which provides drilling, hydraulic fracturing and oilfield rental services to exploration and production companies. The energy market downturn prompted it to turn to bankruptcy on June 7, a move meant to help it eliminate $1.1 billion in debt.

Prior to the chapter 11 filing, Seventy Seven Energy officials negotiated a deal with lenders and bondholders. The proposed restructuring plan would allow a group of unsecured bondholders owed $650 million to forgive their debt in exchange for a 96.75% ownership stake in the company.

Shareholders would receive warrants for 20% of new common stock if all the debtholders vote for the plan.

--Patrick Fitzgerald contributed to this article.

Write to Katy Stech at katy.stech@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 08, 2016 13:09 ET (17:09 GMT)

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024