💥Slimmed Down💥
At Home Group + Powin LLC file; F21 + WW Updates + Urban One Inc.
💉Update: WW International Inc.💉
On May 5, 2025, NYC-based WW International, Inc. ($WW) aka Weight Watchers and seven affiliates (collectively, the “debtors”) filed long-expected (prepackaged) chapter 11 bankruptcy cases in the District of Delaware (Judge Goldblatt):
A lean six weeks later,* the debtors have a docket featuring fewer than 200 calories entries, the most important of which came after a breezy 21-minute-long June 17, 2025 consensual (amended) plan confirmation hearing in which Judge Goldblatt gladly blessed the debtors’ plan and entered an order. The debtors now intend to emerge from bankruptcy “as early as next week” (or, more precisely, on June 24, 2025, per case milestones).
So what does a reorganized WW look like? Pretty much exactly what they said it would.** Fortunately for them and unfortunately for us/you, there was zero f*ckery during these cases. And so the debtors are, as planned and thanks to unanimous acceptance by the Class 3 secured debt holders, dropping $1.15b of funded debt and eliminating $50mm of annual interest expense in exchange for $465mm of takeback term loans (due in 2030) and 91% of the reorganized equity (subject to dilution from a management incentive plan). Existing equityholders are walking away with the “consensual reallocation” of 9% equity — a true “gift” in every sense of the word considering the debtors’ uncontroverted valuation analysis reflects a midpoint of $700mm (again, against over $1.6b of funded debt).*** General unsecured creditors, including vendors and employees, will be paid in full.
All things considered, this is a great result and a job well done by the professionals involved. But is there anyone out there who actually thinks this company will live to see that term loan maturity, 🤔?
*Debtors’ counsel Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP spent more time pre-petition boxing out other law firms from stealing its long time client, 😜.
**The original plan had a mechanism where secured debtholders could elect takeback debt in the form of term loans or notes. The latter got scrapped in the amended plan because of little interest in that structure. There were also some changes to the exculpation and release provisions.
***Read: there was zero equity value here.
🏠New Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Filing - At Home Group, Inc.🏠
On June 16, 2025, Hellman & Friedman LLC (“H&F”)-owned At Home Group, Inc. (“AH Group”) and 41 affiliates (collectively, together with AH Group, the “debtors” and together with their non-debtor affiliates, the “company”) filed prearranged chapter 11 cases in the District of Delaware (Judge Stickles).* The company “… is a home décor and furnishings brand …” that “… completed a successful …” liability-managing “double dip” financing back in ‘23 only to end up in bankruptcy two years later anyway.
