/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCRLA

/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCRLA_Public/160510.mbx T R O U B L E D C O M P A N Y R E P O R T E R L A T I N A M E R I C A Tuesday, May 10, 2016, Vol. 17, No. 91 Headlines A R G E N T I N A MENDOZA: S&P Assigns 'B-' Rating to $500MM Sr. Notes B R A Z I L BRAZIL: Real Plummets With Stocks as Impeachment Hits Roadblock BRAZIL: Bankruptcy Filings Double This Year, Experian Says C A Y M A N I S L A N D S ATLAS SENIOR: Members' Final Meeting Set for May 18 BRE/SAKURA: Shareholder to Hear Wind-Up Report June 3 CONTRARIAN CAPITAL: Shareholder to Hear Wind-Up Report on May 26 DOWNSTREAM LTD: Shareholders' Final Meeting Set for May 18 EASTGATE GEMS: Shareholders' Final Meeting Set for May 17 EASTGATE INDUSTRE: Shareholders' Final Meeting Set for May 17 EXPRESS ENERGY: Shareholder to Hear Wind-Up Report May 27 JP MORGAN DISTRESSED: Shareholder to Hear Wind-Up Report June 10 MAST INDUSTRIES: Shareholders' Final Meeting Set for May 19 PIC CAYMAN 1: Shareholders' Final Meeting Set for May 17 PICASSO PHARMA: Shareholders' Final Meeting Set for May 17 SOUTHERN COMMERCE: Members' Final Meeting Set for June 24 TRIANGULAR BHD: Shareholders' Final Meeting Set for May 19 C O S T A R I C A BANCO INTERNACIONAL: S&P Cuts ICR to BB- & Removes from Watch Neg. P U E R T O R I C O DORAL FINANCIAL: Court Approves Fannie Mae Settlement INTERNATIONAL MANUFACTURING: Judge Ralph R. Mabey Named Mediator SPORTS AUTHORITY: Seeks Approval of Key Employee Retention Plan TELEPRO CARIBE: Case Summary & 13 Unsecured Creditors X X X X X X X X X * Latin America's Wealthiest Nation Readies for Jobless Storm - - - - - ================= A R G E N T I N A ================= MENDOZA: S&P Assigns 'B-' Rating to $500MM Sr. Notes ---------------------------------------------------- S&P Global Ratings assigned its 'B-' issue-level rating on the Province of Mendoza's senior unsecured notes for up to $500 million. The amortizing notes will be denominated in U.S. dollars. The proceeds of the bond issuance will be used to make debt service payments, which S&P expects to reach Argentine peso (ARP) 4,960 million in 2016, and to fund the province's 2016 operating deficit. S&P do not view this additional debt as harmful to the province's financial profile and S&P expects that its moderate debt burden will continue to support its credit profile. Adding the potential $500 million issuance to S&P's estimate for the Province of Mendoza's 2016 year-end debt stock, along with other issuances and amortizations, S&P calculates that the province's total debt stock will reach ARP18,586 million by December 2016. Year-end debt in 2015 reached ARP14,486 million, a 57% nominal increase compared to 2014, driven by the depreciation of the Argentine peso and new borrowings authorized at the end of the year, under the framework of Law 8.816 approved in October. As a result of the surge in borrowings, Mendoza's deficit after borrowings, despite a deteriorating operating balance in 2015, was of 2.4% of operating revenues. S&P's base-case for 2016 assumes Mendoza will have a higher deficit after borrowings, of 4% of operating revenues, mirroring our projected ARP3,617 million debt repayment by December 2016. S&P's base-case for 2016 already incorporates borrowings authorized by Law 8.816 and 8.838, in addition to the continued depreciation of the exchange rate. Such movements, however, should be partially offset by increasing revenues due to double- digit inflation in Argentina and debt repayment. As a result, S&P's base-case for Mendoza's debt will reach to 37% of operating revenues by year-end 2016, compared to 40% at year-end 2015. Between 2012 and 2015, Mendoza's debt was on average 38% of operating revenues. "The foreign currency rating on the Province of Mendoza is the same as our 'B-' global scale long-term issuer credit rating and the transfer and convertibility (T&C) assessment on Argentina. The province of Mendoza, like most Argentine local and regional governments (LRG), does not meet the criteria to be assigned a rating above the sovereign, mostly because the province's liquidity isn't sufficient to cover all of its debt obligations. In addition, we assess the province's stand-alone credit profile (SACP) as 'b-'. The SACP is not a rating, but rather a means of assessing the intrinsic creditworthiness of a LRG under the assumption that there is no sovereign rating cap. The province's SACP results from the combination of our assessment of the Province of Mendoza's individual credit profile and the institutional framework under which it operates. Mendoza, like all LRGs in Argentina, operates under a very volatile and unbalanced institutional framework. At the same time, Mendoza's individual credit profile is limited by its very weak budgetary performance and flexibility, weak economy, weak financial management, and weak liquidity with no cash reserves. On the other hand, the province's moderate debt burden and low contingent liabilities support Mendoza's credit quality," S&P said. The Province of Mendoza, like all Argentinean LRGs, shares a critical link with the central government through its significant revenue distribution, direct financing of infrastructure projects, and authorization for the LRGs to issue new debt. The recently approved "Holdouts Law" by the Argentine Congress, which authorized the national government to issue new debt to pay holdout creditors following the removal of the injunction against payments of its foreign currency debt, has also strengthened Argentine LRGs' access to international capital markets to issue new debt. Given Mendoza's significant infrastructure needs, S&P believes this could have a positive impact on the Province's ability to increase investments over the next few years. The stable outlook on the Province of Mendoza mirrors the stable outlook on the sovereign local currency rating. The outlook reflects renewed dialogue between LRGs and the federal government about tackling fiscal and economic challenges in the short to medium term. If S&P was to raise its T&C assessment and the local currency rating on the sovereign over the next 12 months, S&P could also upgrade Mendoza. On the other hand, S&P could lower the ratings on Mendoza if the T&C assessment weakens, if S&P was to lower the sovereign local currency rating, or if S&P was to assign a sovereign foreign currency rating below 'B-'. RATINGS LIST Mendoza (Province of) Corporate credit rating B-/Stable/-- New Rating Mendoza (Province of) Senior Unsecured B- =========== B R A Z I L =========== BRAZIL: Real Plummets With Stocks as Impeachment Hits Roadblock --------------------------------------------------------------- Filipe Pacheco at Bloomberg News reports that Brazilian assets plunged after the effort to impeach President Dilma Rousseff appeared to hit a roadblock, spurring concern that some of the world's biggest stock and currency rallies would be undone if the current administration remains in power. The Ibovespa stock benchmark plummeted 3.1 percent to 50,104.78 at 11:16 a.m. on May 9, 2016, in New York as the real weakened 4.5 percent, the most since September 2011, to 3.6673 per dollar, according to Bloomberg News. The interim chief of Brazil's lower house, Waldir Maranhao, accepted a request from the attorney general to annul the procedure that pushed forward an impeachment motion in the house and called for a new vote, Bloomberg News relates. The Ibovespa and real have posted the biggest rallies among major markets this year on speculation that an impeachment would usher in a new government better able to pull Latin America's biggest economy out of its worst recession in a century, tame inflation and shore up a fiscal deficit that cost the country its investment-grade credit ratings, Bloomberg News says. The Senate had been scheduled to vote on whether to move forward with the impeachment and compel Rousseff to resign for as much as 180 days while she undergoes a trial, Bloomberg News notes. The effort had cleared the house in a vote last month. "Changing the game plan now is crazy," said Reginaldo Galhardo, a foreign exchange manager at Treviso Corretora de Cambio in Sao Paulo, Bloomberg News relays. "If this decision prevails, everyone will have to sit down and build new scenarios. People will have to reconsider everything. It is hard to imagine how," Mr. Galhardo added. As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter-Latin America on March 29, 2016, severe contraction that was preceded by several years of below-trend growth has impaired Brazil's (Ba2 negative) underlying economic strength, despite the country's large and diversified economy, says Moody's Investors Service. The country's credit rating is also coming under pressure from the government's high level of mandatory spending. BRAZIL: Bankruptcy Filings Double This Year, Experian Says ---------------------------------------------------------- Guillermo Parra-Bernal at Reuters reports that businesses' requests for bankruptcy protection in Brazil doubled in the first four months of 2016 as the harshest recession in decades and borrowing costs at nine-year highs crimped the ability of factories and retailers to stay afloat, the local unit of credit research company Experian Plc said. Companies filed an all-time high of 571 requests for court protection from creditors, compared with 289 filings a year earlier. Last year, a record 1,287 companies sought bankruptcy protection, according to Serasa Experian, which has collected data on the indicator since 2006, according to Reuters. Small companies filed 327 of the bankruptcy protection requests in the period, the Serasa report showed, the report notes. Gross domestic product contracted 3.8 percent last year as businesses slashed investment plans and laid off more than 1.5 million workers, setting the stage for what could be Brazil's deepest economic recession on record, the report relays. As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter-Latin America on March 29, 2016, severe contraction that was preceded by several years of below-trend growth has impaired Brazil's (Ba2 negative) underlying economic strength, despite the country's large and diversified economy, says Moody's Investors Service. The country's credit rating is also coming under pressure from the government's high level of mandatory spending. ========================== C A Y M A N I S L A N D S ========================== ATLAS SENIOR: Members' Final Meeting Set for May 18 --------------------------------------------------- The members of Atlas Senior Loan Fund VIII, Ltd. will hold their final meeting on May 18, 2016, at 9:00 a.m., to receive the liquidator's report on the company's wind-up proceedings and property disposal. The company's liquidator is: Andre Slabbert Appleby Trust (Cayman) Ltd. 75 Fort Street P.O. Box 1350 Grand Cayman KY1-1108 Cayman Islands Telephone: +1 (345) 949 4900 BRE/SAKURA: Shareholder to Hear Wind-Up Report June 3 ----------------------------------------------------- The shareholder of BRE/Sakura Cayco III will hear on June 3, 2016, at 10:00 a.m., the liquidator's report on the company's wind-up proceedings and property disposal. The company's liquidator is: Intertrust SPV (Cayman) Limited c/o Susan Craig 190 Elgin Avenue, George Town Grand Cayman KY1-9005 Cayman Islands Telephone: (345) 943-3100 CONTRARIAN CAPITAL: Shareholder to Hear Wind-Up Report on May 26 ---------------------------------------------------------------- The shareholder of Contrarian Capital Senior Secured Offshore Fund Limited will hear on May 26, 2016, at 10:00 a.m., the liquidator's report on the company's wind-up proceedings and property disposal. The company's liquidator is: Andrew Richard Victor Morrison c/o Tim Cone 89 Nexus Way, Camana Bay Grand Cayman KY1-9009 Cayman Islands Telephone: +1 (345) 949 9876 Facsimile: +1 (345) 949 9877 DOWNSTREAM LTD: Shareholders' Final Meeting Set for May 18 ---------------------------------------------------------- The shareholders of Downstream Ltd. will hold their final meeting on May 18, 2016, at 10:00 a.m., to receive the liquidators' report on the company's wind-up proceedings and property disposal. The company's liquidator is: Tim Miller Telephone: + 770-932-1137 Facsimile: + 770-932-1243 EASTGATE GEMS: Shareholders' Final Meeting Set for May 17 --------------------------------------------------------- The shareholders of Eastgate Gems SPV 5 will hold their final meeting on May 17, 2016, at 11:00 a.m., to receive the liquidators' report on the company's wind-up proceedings and property disposal. The company's liquidators are: Pankaj Gupta Mohammed Abdullah A Alali c/o Sophie Kassam Walkers 190 Elgin Avenue, George Town Grand Cayman KY1-9001 Cayman Islands Telephone: +971 4 363 7919 EASTGATE INDUSTRE: Shareholders' Final Meeting Set for May 17 ------------------------------------------------------------- The shareholders of Eastgate Industre SPV2 will hold their final meeting on May 17, 2016, at 11:00 a.m., to receive the liquidator's report on the company's wind-up proceedings and property disposal. The company's liquidators are: Pankaj Gupta Mohammed Abdullah A Alali c/o Sophie Kassam Walkers 190 Elgin Avenue, George Town Grand Cayman KY1-9001 Cayman Islands Telephone: +971 4 363 7919 EXPRESS ENERGY: Shareholder to Hear Wind-Up Report May 27 --------------------------------------------------------- The shareholder of Express Energy - CIG Holdings Ltd. will hear on May 27, 2016, the liquidator's report on the company's wind-up proceedings and property disposal. The company's liquidator is: David Dyer P.O. Box 1984 Grand Cayman KY1-1104 Cayman Islands Telephone: (345)949-8244 Facsimile: (345)949-5223 JP MORGAN DISTRESSED: Shareholder to Hear Wind-Up Report June 10 ---------------------------------------------------------------- The shareholder of J.P. Morgan Distressed Debt Opportunities Master Fund Ltd. will hear on June 10, 2016, at 8:30 a.m., the liquidator's report on the company's wind-up proceedings and property disposal. The company's liquidator is: Intertrust SPV (Cayman) Limited c/o Kim Charaman 190 Elgin Avenue, George Town Grand Cayman KY1-9005 Cayman Islands Telephone: (345) 943-3100 MAST INDUSTRIES: Shareholders' Final Meeting Set for May 19 ----------------------------------------------------------- The shareholders of Mast Industries N.V. will hold their final meeting on May 19, 2016, at 10:45 a.m., to receive the liquidators' report on the company's wind-up proceedings and property disposal. The company's liquidator is: Walkers Liquidations Limited Cayman Corporate Centre 27 Hospital Road, George Town Grand Cayman KY1-9008 Cayman Islands Telephone: +1 (345) 949 0100 PIC CAYMAN 1: Shareholders' Final Meeting Set for May 17 -------------------------------------------------------- The shareholders of Pic Cayman 1 will hold their final meeting on May 17, 2016, at 11:00 a.m., to receive the liquidators' report on the company's wind-up proceedings and property disposal. The company's liquidators are: Pankaj Gupta Mohammed Abdullah A Alali c/o Sophie Kassam Walkers 190 Elgin Avenue, George Town Grand Cayman KY1-9001 Cayman Islands Telephone: +971 4 363 7919 PICASSO PHARMA: Shareholders' Final Meeting Set for May 17 ---------------------------------------------------------- The shareholders of Picasso Pharma SPV will hold their final meeting on May 17, 2016, at 11:00 a.m., to receive the liquidators' report on the company's wind-up proceedings and property disposal. The company's liquidators are: Pankaj Gupta Mohammed Abdullah A Alali c/o Sophie Kassam Walkers 190 Elgin Avenue, George Town Grand Cayman KY1-9001 Cayman Islands Telephone: +971 4 363 7919 SOUTHERN COMMERCE: Members' Final Meeting Set for June 24 --------------------------------------------------------- The members of Southern Commerce Corp. Ltd. will hold their final meeting on June 24, 2016, to receive the liquidator's report on the company's wind-up proceedings and property disposal. The company's liquidator is: Kent Limited Michelle R. Bodden-Moxam St. George's International Limited The Grand Pavilion Commercial Centre Oleander Way, 802 West Bay Road P.O. Box 30691 Grand Cayman KY1-1203 Cayman Islands Telephone: (345) 946-6145 Facsimile: (345) 946-6146 TRIANGULAR BHD: Shareholders' Final Meeting Set for May 19 ---------------------------------------------------------- The shareholders of Triangular BHD Fund Ltd. will hold their final meeting on May 19, 2016, at 10:00 a.m., to receive the liquidator's report on the company's wind-up proceedings and property disposal. The company's liquidator is: Alun Davies Walkers 190 Elgin Avenue, George Town Grand Cayman KY1-9001 Cayman Islands Telephone: (345) 914 6365 =================== C O S T A R I C A =================== BANCO INTERNACIONAL: S&P Cuts ICR to BB- & Removes from Watch Neg. ------------------------------------------------------------------ S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term global scale issuer credit rating on Banco Internacional de Costa Rica (BICSA) to 'BB-' from 'BB' and affirmed its 'B' short-term issuer credit rating. At the same time, S&P removed the ratings from CreditWatch with negative implications, where S&P placed them on Feb. 26, 2016. The outlook on the long-term rating is negative. The stand-alone credit profile remains 'bb'. The rating action follows S&P's assessment of BICSA's potential resilience to a hypothetical default of Costa Rica (foreign currency: BB-/Negative/B). For an entity to be rated above the relevant sovereign foreign currency rating, the entity should be able to pass a hypothetical sovereign foreign currency default stress test. S&P applied the stress test to the foreign currency rating on the sovereign to which the entity has the largest material exposure (BICSA had around 45% of its loan exposure in Costa Rica as of Dec. 31, 2015) and whose foreign currency rating is lower than the potential credit rating on the entity. The negative outlook over the next two years reflects that on Costa Rica. The sovereign rating will continue to constrain S&P's ratings on BICSA, so the ratings will move in tandem with those on the sovereign. If S&P's foreign currency rating on Costa Rica is lowered further, then S&P's issuer credit rating on BICSA would also be lowered. Conversely, if the outlook on the sovereign is revised to stable, S&P will take a similar action on BICSA. ===================== P U E R T O R I C O ===================== DORAL FINANCIAL: Court Approves Fannie Mae Settlement ---------------------------------------------------- Doral Financial Corporation and the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors sought for and obtained from Judge Shelley C. Chapman of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York approval of their settlement with Fannie Mae. The Debtor and Fannie Mae are parties to a Mortgage Selling and Servicing Contract ("MSSC") which, among other things, approved the Debtor to sell mortgage loans to Fannie Mae. Since the execution of the MSSC, the Debtor has sold mortgage loans to Fannie Mae pursuant to certain individual master agreements ("MP Contract"). Under certain conditions, the Debtor is obligated to repurchase or cover certain losses of Fannie Mae relating to some of the mortgage loans sold by the Debtor to Fannie Mae. The Debtor entered into a Pledge Agreement pursuant to which the Debtor pledged $44 million of cash and negotiable debt securities as collateral to secure its obligations arising under certain MP Contracts. In connection with the execution of the Pledge Agreement, the Debtor established an account ("Account")with The Bank of New York ("BNY"), deposited the Collateral in the Account, and entered into a Collateral Account Control Agreement,("Escrow Agreement") among the Debtor, Fannie Mae, and BNY, pursuant to which BNY continues to hold the Collateral. The Collateral has matured into cash since its deposit and the Account currently holds $44 million in cash. A separate account at BNY ("DDA") holds $1,000,906 in cash, which is comprised of interest payments received on account of the Collateral prior to its maturity. Fannie Mae filed a proof of claim in the Debtor's bankruptcy case, asserting secured and unsecured claims against the Debtor's estate in an aggregate amount of $22,989,840. In addition to an unsecured claim of $9,840 due under a software agreement, Fannie Mae asserts a secured claim of $22,980,000 for "recourse obligations on more than 8800 recourse loans that require the Debtor to purchase and/or pay losses incurred on the recourse loans" that are secured by the Collateral. The Debtor and the Official Committee contended that the Settlement Agreement is the result of a months-long, good faith, and arms'-length discussion among the parties, and provides for over $6 million of additional consideration for the estate. They further contended that it provides for the release of $13,950,000 from the Account to Fannie Mae with the remaining $30,050,000 in the Account to be released to the Debtor, and that the Debtor will also receive the funds in the DDA. The Debtor and the Official Committee told the Court that the Settlement Agreement contemplates the full termination of the Debtor's and Fannie Mae's entire contractual relationship, the withdrawal of Fannie Mae's Proof of Claim, and the exchange of full mutual releases among the Debtor, the Committee, and Fannie Mae, including the release of termination, rejection, or related damages, if any, that would otherwise arise from the termination of the Party Contracts. Doral Financial Corporation and its affiliated debtors are represented by: Mark I. Bane, Esq. ROPES & GRAY LLP 1211 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10036-8704 Telephone: (212)596-9000 Facsimile: (212)596-9090 E-mail: mark.bane@ropesgray.com - and - James A. Wright III, Esq. ROPES & GRAY LLP Prudential Tower 800 Boylston Street Boston, MA 02199-3600 Telephone: (617)951-7000 Facsimile: (617)951-7050 E-mail: james.wright@ropesgray.com The Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors is represented by: Brian D. Pfeiffer, Esq. Taejin Kim, Esq. SCHULTE ROTH & ZABEL LLP 919 Third Avenue New York, NY 10022 Telephone: (212)756-2000 Facsimile: (212)593-5955 E-mail: brian.pfeiffer@srz.com tae.kim@srz.com About Doral Financial Corporation Doral Financial Corporation is a holding company whose primary operating asset was equity in Doral Bank. DFC maintains offices in New York City, Coral Gables, Florida and San Juan, Puerto Rico. DFC has three wholly-owned subsidiaries: (i) Doral Properties, Inc., (ii) Doral Insurance Agency, LLC ("Doral Insurance"), and (iii) Doral Recovery, Inc. On Feb. 27, 2015, regulators placed Doral Bank into receivership and named the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. as receiver. Doral Bank served customers through 26 branches located in New York, Florida, and Puerto Rico. DFC sought Chapter 11 protection (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Case No. 15-10573) in Manhattan on March 11, 2015. DFC estimated $50 million to $100 million in assets and $100 million to $500 million in debt as of the bankruptcy filing. On Nov. 25, 2015, Doral Properties filed a voluntary petition (Case No. 15-13160). Doral Properties Inc. disclosed total assets of P23,149,434 and total liabilities of 37,335,000. On Dec. 4, 2015, the Court directed the joint administration of The Debtors' chapter 11 cases under Case No. 15-10573, for procedural purposes. Both cases are assigned to Judge Shelley C. Chapman. The Debtors are represented by Ropes & Gray LLP as counsel. Garden City Group, LLC, serves as the Debtors' claims agent. Carol Flaton at Zolfo Cooper Management serves as chief restructuring officer. The U.S. trustee overseeing the Chapter 11 case of Doral Financial appointed five creditors of the company to serve on the official committee of unsecured creditors. The Committee is represented by Brian D. Pfeiffer, Esq., and Taejin Kim, Esq., at Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP. The panel tapped Fiddler, Gonzalez, Rodriguez, P.S.C. as special Puerto Rico counsel; McConnell Valdes LLC as special Puerto Rico tax counsel; Capstone Advisory Group, LLC, together with its wholly-owned subsidiary Capstone Valuation Services, LLC, as financial advisor; and Prime Clerk LLC as its information agent. INTERNATIONAL MANUFACTURING: Judge Ralph R. Mabey Named Mediator ---------------------------------------------------------------- Judge Robert S. Bardwil of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of California, Sacramento Division, authorized the appointment of Honorable Ralph R. Mabey, a member in the Kirton McConkie law firm, as mediator. Chapter 11 Trustee Beverly N. McFarland had sought Judge Mabey's appointment as mediator, to mediate a settlement of the bankruptcy estate's fraudulent transfer adversary action pending against Bridge Bank, N.A. Judge Bardwil authorized the Chapter 11 Trustee to pay the bankruptcy estate's portion of both Judge Mabey's fees at his reduced rate of $965 per hour and his expenses. Beverly N. McFarland, Chapter 11 Trustee, is represented by: Thomas A. Willoughby, Esq. Jennifer E. Niemann, Esq. FELDERSTEIN FITZGERALD WILLOUGHBY & PASCUZZI LLP 400 Capitol Mall, Suite 1750 Sacramento, CA 95814 Telephone: (916)329-7400 Facsimile: (916)329-7435 E-mail: twilloughby@ffwplaw.com About International Manufacturing Group Deepal Wannakuwatte, the mastermind of a $150 million Ponzi scheme, put himself and his company, International Manufacturing Group Inc., into Chapter 11 after he pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and agreed to a 20-year prison sentence. The bankruptcy filing was part of his plea bargain with federal prosecutors. Mr. Wannakuwatte is the former owner of the Sacramento Capitols tennis team. International Manufacturing sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection (Bankr. E.D. Cal. Case No. 14-25820) in Sacramento, on May 30, 2014. The case is assigned to Judge Robert S. Bardwiln The Debtor tapped Marc A. Caraska, in Sacramento, as counsel. In June 2014, Beverly N. McFarland was appointed as Chapter 11 trustee for the Debtor. She has tapped Felderstein Fitzgerald Willoughby & Pascuzzi LLP as her bankruptcy counsel; Diamond McCarthy LLP as her special litigation counsel; Gabrielson & Company as accountant; and Karen Rushing as bookkeeper outside the ordinary course of business. The U.S. Trustee for Region 7 appointed a three-member unsecured creditors panel comprising of Byron Younger, Janine Jones, and Steve Whitesides. SPORTS AUTHORITY: Seeks Approval of Key Employee Retention Plan --------------------------------------------------------------- The Sports Authority, Inc., and its affiliated debtors ask the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware to approve their Key Employee Retention Program ("KERP"). The Debtors contend that The Sports Authority Key Employee Retention Program is designed to provide retention payments to certain key, non-insider employees of the Debtors in order to increase the likelihood that the proceeds received by the Debtors through the sale or liquidation of their assets are maximized, as well as preserved, during the Debtors' Chapter 11 cases. The KERP contains, among others, these relevant terms: (a) Participation: At this time, the Debtors have limited participation in the KERP to certain critical non-insider employees. However, the Debtors reserve the right, in their reasonable business judgment, to select additional non-insider KERP Participants upon notice to the U.S. Trustee, the Debtors' prepetition and post-petition secured lenders, and the Committee. The KERP Participants represent a cross-section of various functions of the Debtors, including accounting, finance, human resources, information technology, legal, operations and sourcing/planning. (b) Cost: The aggregate cost of the KERP will be no greater than $1,250,000. (c) Retention Bonus: The Retention Bonus paid to each KERP Participant will be a lump sum amount, with those KERP Participants who are the most critical and irreplaceable eligible for the largest Retention Bonuses. (d) Retention Bonus Schedule: Each KERP Participant's Retention Bonus will be paid upon the latest to occur of (i) 75 days following the Court's approval of a sale of substantially all of the Debtors' assets, and/or, a liquidation process, or (ii) if applicable, confirmation of a chapter 11 plan. (e) Termination Provisions: Any KERP Participant that voluntarily resigns, or is terminated for cause, prior to payment of a Retention Bonus, will forfeit his or her Retention Bonus. The Debtors reserve the right, in their reasonable business judgment, to make forfeited payments available to other employees or reallocate forfeited payments among the other eligible KERP Participants, upon notice to the U.S. Trustee, the Debtors' prepetition and post-petition secured lenders, and the Committee. The Sports Authority, Inc., and its affiliated debtors are represented by: Michael R. Nestor, Esq. Kenneth J. Enos, Esq. Andrew L. Magaziner, Esq. YOUNG CONAWAY STARGATT & TAYLOR, LLP Rodney Square 1000 North King Street Wilmington, DE 19801 Telephone: (302)571-6600 Facsimile: (302)571-1253 E-mail: mnestor@ycst.com kenos@ycst.com amagaziner@ycst.com - and - Robert A. Klyman, Esq. Matthew J. Williams, Esq. Jeremy L. Graves, Esq. Sabina Jacobs, Esq. GIBSON, DUNN & CRUTCHER LLP 333 South Grand Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90071-1512 Telephone: (213)229-7000 Facsimile: (213)229-7520 E-mail: rklyman@gibsondunn.com mjwilliams@gibsondunn.com jgraves@gibsondunn.com sjacobs@gibsondunn.com About Sports Authority Holdings Sports Authority Holdings, et al., are sporting goods retailers with roots dating back to 1928. The Debtors currently operate 464 stores and five distribution centers across 40 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. The Debtors offer a broad selection of goods from a wide array of household and specialty brands, including Adidas, Asics, Brooks, Columbia, FitBit, Hanesbrands, Icon Health and Fitness, Nike, The North Face, and Under Armour, in addition to their own private label brands. The Debtors employ 13,000 people. Sports Authority and six of its affiliates filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy petitions (Bankr. D. Del. Case Nos. 16-10527 to 16-10533) on March 2, 2016. The petitions were signed by Michael E. Foss as chairman & chief executive officer. The Debtors have engaged Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP as general counsel, Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP as co-counsel, Rothschild Inc. as investment banker, FTI Consulting, Inc., as financial advisor and Kurtzman Carson Consultants LLC as notice, claims, solicitation, balloting and tabulation agent. Lawyers at Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones LLP represent the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors. TELEPRO CARIBE: Case Summary & 13 Unsecured Creditors ----------------------------------------------------- Debtor: Telepro Caribe, Inc. PO Box 270397 San Juan, PR 00928-3397 Case No.: 16-03648 Chapter 11 Petition Date: May 5, 2016 Court: United States Bankruptcy Court District of Puerto Rico (Old San Juan) Judge: Hon. Enrique S. Lamoutte Inclan Debtor's Counsel: Nelson Robles Diaz, Esq. NELSON ROBLES DIAZ LAW OFFICES, P.S.C. P.O. Box 192302 San Juan, PR 00919-2302 Tel: (787) 721-7929 Fax: (787) 282-9100 E-mail: nroblesdiaz@gmail.com Estimated Assets: $0 to $50,000 Estimated Liabilities: $1 million to $10 million The petition was signed by Jose R. Mora Nazario, CEO. A list of the Debtor's 13 largest unsecured creditors is available for free at http://bankrupt.com/misc/prb16-03648.pdf ================= X X X X X X X X X ================= * Latin America's Wealthiest Nation Readies for Jobless Storm ------------------------------------------------------------- Laura Millan Lombrana at Bloomberg News reports that Elson Carrasco has called every one of his friends and colleagues in the construction industry over the past month as he looks for work. After 30 years on building sites, that is a lot of people -- yet not one has been able to help, according to Bloomberg News. "Things are bad," Mr. Carrasco said as he collected his first ever unemployment payment in central Santiago on April 3, says the report. "Companies don't have jobs. They are working on existing projects, but there aren't any new ones coming in," Mr. Carrasco added. Bloomberg News notes that the jobless rate in the Santiago Metropolitan Region leaped 2.6 percentage points to a six-year high of 9.4 percent in March from three months earlier, according to a survey by the Universidad de Chile. As the labor market turns down, real wages are growing at the slowest pace since 2009, Bloomberg News relays. The jump in unemployment is bad news for a government that ratcheted up spending last year, hired more workers and increased infrastructure investment 12 percent to ease the impact of slower growth, Bloomberg News says. With the Finance Ministry already cutting back its spending plans for this year as the budget deficit widens, the last thing President Michelle Bachelet wants to see is consumer spending going the same way as investment -- downwards, Bloomberg News discloses. Further pressure on economic growth seems inevitable though as unemployment rises, Bloomberg News notes. Mr. Carrasco has already stopped taking his wife and two daughters out to dinner on Fridays and is preparing to cut back further, Bloomberg News relays. "The biggest expense is the mortgage, so we are adjusting our budget in other things like groceries," he added, notes the report. 'Feedback Loop' Consumer spending had helped the economy maintain growth of about 2 percent for the past two years, even as a decade-long commodity boom came to an abrupt end and investment fell, Bloomberg News notes. That growth pillar may already be weakening, with retail sales growing at the slowest pace in a year in March, Bloomberg News relates. "These things create the risk of a feedback loop," the report quoted Tiago Severo, an analyst at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in New York, as saying. "The labor market had been weakening for months, but we weren't seeing that weakness translated into a higher headline unemployment figure. This is happening now." Bloomberg News relays that the national statistic agency's calculation of national unemployment rose more than analysts expected to 6.3 percent in the first quarter from 5.9 percent in the month-earlier period, and up from 6.1 percent a year before. The median estimate of 15 economists surveyed by Bloomberg was 6 percent. As unemployment rises, the government stands ready to step in, Finance Minister Rodrigo Valdes said. "We have a system to activate emergency programs for jobs depending on the unemployment level," Mr. Valdez said, Bloomberg News relays. "Unemployment reflects lower growth, so we need to work on the main issue, which is growth," he added. Construction Standstill The construction industry is likely to be particularly hard hit this year, Bloomberg News notes. In 2015, the industry boomed as builders rushed to start projects before a new tax came into effect at the beginning of this year, Bloomberg News relays. As apartment blocks shot up across the country, employment in the industry leaped by 44,380 last year, or 6.7 percent, Bloomberg News discloses. That boom has now ended, with the survey by Universidad de Chile estimating the jobless rate in the Santiago Metropolitan Region among construction workers at 9.9 percent in March, higher than any other industry, Bloomberg News notes. Outside the unemployment office, Carrasco explains that he used to make about $1,800 a month as a site manager, although his contract only shows monthly payments of $380, the minimum wage, Bloomberg News relates. The rest was paid in cash, Bloomberg News says. "Companies practically force you to accept these conditions, and now my unemployment benefit is really low," he added, the report relays. Going Downmarket The situation is not yet dire. Like Carrasco, many unemployed people interviewed by Bloomberg as they lined up to collect their benefit payments expected to find work, but not with the pay or conditions they wanted. The statistics agency reported that self-employed jobs, linked to unqualified or informal work, grew 7.3 percent in the first quarter from a year ago. Salaried jobs were only up 0.1 percent, Bloomberg News notes. Alina Correa, who lost her job earlier this year as a secretary at a company that imports cloths because of a downturn in business, is beginning to lower her expectations, Bloomberg News relays. "There is work, yes, but it is not well-paid at all," she added. *********** Monday's edition of the TCR-LA delivers a list of indicative prices for bond issues that reportedly trade well below par. Prices are obtained by TCR-LA editors from a variety of outside sources during the prior week we think are reliable. Those sources may not, however, be complete or accurate. The Monday Bond Pricing table is compiled on the Friday prior to publication. Prices reported are not intended to reflect actual trades. Prices for actual trades are probably different. Our objective is to share information, not make markets in publicly traded securities. Nothing in the TCR-LA constitutes an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any security of any kind. It is likely that some entity affiliated with a TCR-LA editor holds some position in the issuers' public debt and equity securities about which we report. Tuesday's edition of the TCR-LA features a list of companies with insolvent balance sheets obtained by our editors based on the latest balance sheets publicly available a day prior to publication. At first glance, this list may look like the definitive compilation of stocks that are ideal to sell short. Don't be fooled. Assets, for example, reported at historical cost net of depreciation may understate the true value of a firm's assets. A company may establish reserves on its balance sheet for liabilities that may never materialize. The prices at which equity securities trade in public market are determined by more than a balance sheet solvency test. Submissions about insolvency-related conferences are encouraged. Send announcements to conferences@bankrupt.com *********** S U B S C R I P T I O N I N F O R M A T I O N Troubled Company Reporter-Latin America is a daily newsletter co-published by Bankruptcy Creditors' Service, Inc., Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania, USA, and Beard Group, Inc., Washington, D.C., USA, Marites O. Claro, Joy A. Agravante, Rousel Elaine T. Fernandez, Valerie U. Pascual, Julie Anne L. Toledo, and Peter A. Chapman, Editors. Copyright 2016. All rights reserved. ISSN 1529-2746. This material is copyrighted and any comillionercial use, resale or publication in any form (including e-mail forwarding, electronic re-mailing and photocopying) is strictly prohibited without prior written permission of the publishers. Information contained herein is obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but is not guaranteed. The TCR Latin America subscription rate is US$775 per half-year, delivered via e-mail. Additional e-mail subscriptions for members of the same firm for the term of the initial subscription or balance thereof are US$25 each. For subscription information, contact Peter A. Chapman at 215-945-7000 or Nina Novak at 202-362-8552. * * * End of Transmission * * *