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Jackson Walker Faces Deadline; Oaktree Takes Wheel at Superior
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Welcome to WSJ Pro Bankruptcy's Daily Briefing. It's Wednesday, July 9. In today's briefing, a federal judge gave law firm Jackson Walker until July 15 to settle a Justice Department case seeking $23 million over allegations it concealed a former partner’s romantic relationship with ex-bankruptcy judge David R. Jones. And Superior Industries International will be taken over by a group of term loan investors led by Oaktree Capital in a debt-for-equity deal that cuts its funded debt by nearly 90%.
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The Houston office of law firm Jackson Walker. Photo: Callaghan O’Hare for The Wall Street Journal
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Judge Sets Deal Deadline for Jackson Walker in Houston Ethics Scandal
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A federal judge gave law firm Jackson Walker one week to settle a government case alleging the Texas firm covered up an ex-partner's relationship with former bankruptcy judge David R. Jones.
U.S. District Judge Alia Moses indicated she would set a trial date if Jackson Walker and a civil division of the Justice Department don't reach a mediated settlement by July 15.
The Justice Department's Office of the U.S. Trustee is seeking roughly $23 million in fees that Jackson Walker collected without disclosing what it knew about its former lawyer Elizabeth Freeman and her romantic relationship with then-judge Jones. Jackson Walker has maintained that it acted appropriately once it learned of the couple's relationship.
–Andrew Scurria
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Earlier: A federal judge in Texas questioned whether close ties among law firms are affecting litigation over a former bankruptcy judge’s undisclosed romance with a lawyer who appeared in his court on dozens of cases.
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A worker making car wheels at an auto parts factory in China in 2024. Southfield, Mich.-based Superior Industries, which makes most of its wheels in Mexico and Poland, is facing financial pressure because of tariffs on imported car parts. Photo: Cfoto/ZUMA Press
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Superior Industries to Hand Over Control to Creditors Led by Oaktree
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Superior Industries International has agreed to be acquired by a group of its term loan investors led by Oaktree Capital Management in a recapitalization that will slash nearly 90% of the company’s funded debt.
Investors have agreed to convert up to $550 million of term loan into 96.5% equity in an indirect parent company of the restructured business. The transaction would reduce the aluminum wheel maker's funded debt from $982 million to $125 million.
Superior’s existing revolving credit and factoring facilities will remain in place.
Common stockholders will receive a total of $3.1 million in cash. Holders of the company’s preferred stock will receive $6.2 million in cash and 3.5% of the equity in the newly formed parent entity.
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You Read It Here First: Oaktree Capital Management is in discussions with aluminum wheel maker Superior Industries International about a potential takeover of the business.
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WW International Brings In New Executives, Board Members
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WW International named Kim Boyd as chief medical officer, part of a broader reorganization designed to adjust to a more modern environment.
The company better known as WeightWatchers also named Uta Knablein as chief product officer, one of many executive changes issued.
Additionally, new board members were brought in to oversee leadership. Among the appointments were Mike Mason, former president of Eli Lilly's diabetes and obesity business. Existing directors Tara Comonte and Julie Bornstein will continue to serve on the new board.
WeightWatchers said it will launch a new program to support women through perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopause later this year, building on its existing programs focused on nutritional and behavioral strategies.
WeightWatchers on Tuesday also said it successfully relisted as a public company on the Nasdaq under the ticker WW. The company whose dieting and wellness programs were once a central part of U.S. fitness culture filed for bankruptcy in May amid a landscape in which consumers have more options to address their weight-loss concerns, including access to weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and free fitness apps.
WeightWatchers has been offering drugs as a complement to its legacy business model of providing food consumption and exercise plans, though its clinical business hasn't grown fast enough to offset the decline in subscriptions to its core programs, The Wall Street Journal reported in May.
–Denny Jacob
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Coller Raises $6.8 Billion for Credit Secondary Deals
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Coller Capital has wrapped up fundraising for one of the largest pools of capital dedicated to acquiring secondhand private-credit assets, a market that has boomed in recent years as more institutional investors face liquidity constraints.
The London-based investment manager, one of the oldest dedicated secondary investment firms, collected $6.8 billion to acquire private-credit assets from fund investors, the firm said.
The investor commitments are split between a commingled fund, Coller Credit Opportunities II, and a series of related vehicles aimed at institutional and individual investors. Coller didn’t disclose how the total breaks down across the different vehicles.
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