Foreclosure Postings Up In D/FW
December 19, 2008
Foreclosure postings at courthouses in Dallas, Tarrant, Collin and Denton counties are up for January sales, according to a report published by Foreclosure Listing Service, Inc.
The report states that 4,078 residential postings were filed for January 2009 auctions, up 11 percent from January 2008.
Tarrant County postings rose 11 percent from last year, while Dallas postings saw only an 8 percent rise. Collin and Denton counties saw 18 and 16 percent increases respectively.
George Roddy Sr., president of Foreclosure Listing Service, said in a press release that he expected the numbers to not rise so much after Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced that they would halt foreclosure proceedings during the holidays.
“Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac pledged to suspend foreclosure sales on occupied single-family homes until January 9,” Roddy said. “Abandoned or vacant properties will still be auctioned off.”
Of the properties posted for sale, 54 percent involve homes with Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac backed mortgages. That is down from 58 percent in January 2008.
Tribune Company Files Bankruptcy
December 8, 2008
Tribune Company, owner of KDAF-TV 33 in Dallas, newspapers like the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Cubs and Wrigley Field, will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware.
The Associated Press and the Wall Street Journal are reported recently that the company had hired financial advisers to guide it through a bankruptcy filing.
Tribune was taken private in a $8.2 billion buyout led by Sam Zell last December. The company said last week that its debt load had increased to $11.8 billion, up from $9.4 billion in December of last year.
The company had expected advertising revenue at its newspapers to pay the principal and interest on its debt, but the economic slowdown has forced declines in that sector making it likely that Tribune will not have the cash flow to pay the $1 billion in interest payments that are due this year.
Pilgrim’s Pride Files Bankruptcy
December 1, 2008
Texas based Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday, hobbled by its debt load and volatile feed prices.
The nation’s largest chicken producer sought bankruptcy protection in a filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas that states it had $3.75 billion in assets and $2.72 billion in debts as of September 27, 2008.
Ray Atkinson, a spokesman for the company, said the company will not liquidate its assets and would keep operating through a reorganization process.
Problems at the Pittsburg, Texas company have been evident since it announced in September that it would post a “significant loss” in the fourth quarter. It has had to extend its temporary credit line three times since then, the most recent of which faced a deadline of Monday afternoon.
Analyst cite Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. 2007 $1.3 billion purchase of rival Gold Kist Inc. as the cause of the company’s large debt.
The company controls about 23 percent of the U.S. market, and is also a large chicken producer in Mexico. It has 48,000 employees and operates 35 chicken processing plants and 11 prepared-foods facilities.
Pilgrim’s Pride also said in a statement that it is seeking approval to enter into a $450 million debtor-in-possession financing agreement arranged by Bank of Montreal. The company said if the financing is approved by the court, the money will help it run its daily operations, including paying wages and other obligations.
“We expect to emerge from this restructuring a stronger, more competitive company that is well-positioned for growth and enhanced profitability,” Clint Rivers, Pilgrim’s Pride’s president and chief executive said in a statement.