By Bansari Mayur Kamdar
U.S. companies are feeling the heat of decades-high interest rates and sticky inflation, with several of them filing for bankruptcy protection as the era of easy money draws to a close.
Total Chapter 11 filings for the first half of the year eclipsed those of any other comparable period since 2010, data from S&P Global Market Intelligence showed.
There were 54 corporate bankruptcy petitions in June, the same as the previous month, the report showed, with the year-to-date count nearly doubling to 340 from a year ago.
Consumer discretionary companies topped the number of bankruptcies than any other sector in 2023. Industrial and healthcare sectors also saw a sharp uptick in June.
Fifteen companies with more than $1 billion in liabilities filed for bankruptcy in the first half of the year, with four of them filing in June, making it the month with the most bankruptcy filings so far this year.
Companies with over $1 Bankruptcy Reason
billion in liabilities announcement
date
Cyxtera June 4 The data-center operator
Technologies filed for bankruptcy as it struggles
to pay down debt and faces funding
crunch.
PGX Holdings June 4 PGX filed for bankruptcy
as it lost a court case brought by
the CFPB over its billing for credit
repair services.
Incora June 1 The aerospace supplier,
formed through the merger of Wesco
and Pattonair, filed for bankruptcy
due to depressed demand for aircraft
maintenance and litigation over its
efforts to restructure its debt
outside of bankruptcy.
Diebold June 1 The ATM maker filed for
Nixdorf bankruptcy, saying it had reached an
agreement to reduce the company's
overall debt by $2.1 billion.
Envision May 15 The KKR & Co Inc-backed medical
Healthcare staffing firm filed for bankruptcy,
impacted by high labor costs and a
long battle with insurer UnitedHealth
Group.
Kidde-Fenwal May 14 The unit of Carrier Global that
specializes in fire control systems,
filed for bankruptcy, as it buckled
under the weight of lawsuits alleging
that "forever chemicals" in its
firefighting foam products have
contaminated water sources around
U.S. airports and military bases.
Monitronics May 14 The home security systems provider
International with more than $1 billion in debt due
in 2024 filed for bankruptcy a
second time to help implement its
restructuring.
Whittaker, Apr 26 The talc supplier filed for
Clark & Daniels bankruptcy, citing a "deluge" of
lawsuits alleging its talc products
caused asbestos exposure and cancer.
Bed Bath & Apr 23 Bed Bath & Beyond filed for
Beyond bankruptcy after the home goods
retailer failed to secure funds to
stay afloat.
LTL Apr 4 The Johnson & Johnson talc unit filed
Management for bankruptcy for a second time with
the intent to present a
reorganization plan with a proposed
$8.9 billion settlement to a judge as
soon as May 14.
SVB Mar 17 SVB Financial Group filed for
Financial Group bankruptcy to seek buyers for its
assets, days after its former unit
Silicon Valley Bank was taken over by
U.S. regulators.
Diamond Mar 14 Diamond Sports Group, which provides
Sports Group local television broadcasts for
nearly half of NBA, NHL and MLB
games, filed for bankruptcy, caught
between expensive broadcast rights
agreements and sports viewers'
cord-cutting habits.
Avaya Feb 14 Avaya filed for bankruptcy and
secured a financing of $780 million
as it restructures its business.
Serta Jan 23 Mattress maker Serta Simmons Bedding
Simmons Bedding filed for bankruptcy in an effort to
eliminate most of its debt.
Party City Jan 17 The party supplies retailer filed for
Holdco bankruptcy, as persistently high
inflation takes a toll on consumer
spending.
Source: S&P Global Market Intelligence, Refinitiv Eikon
(Reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Vinay Dwivedi)
