Next Week in Bankruptcy

Texas’s Goodrich Petroleum Corp. will ask a judge in Houston on Tuesday to sign off on its bankruptcy-exit plan, one of the final steps in concluding the oil and gas producer’s bankruptcy case.

Houston-based Goodrich, which sought bankruptcy protection after seeking to cut its debt as oil prices continued to tumble, will ask for approval of a deal that would erase $400 million in debt from its books through a swap with a group of investors that own bonds that the company issued last year.

The Goodrich bondholders, who include Franklin Advisors Inc., Penn Capital Management and Jefferies LLC, have agreed to forgive $175 million in debt in exchange for ownership of the company.

The company filed for bankruptcy last month, having already begun the process of formally soliciting creditor votes in support of this plan. The chapter 11 filing capped a year-long effort to reduce leverage and raise liquidity to weather low prices.

Also Tuesday, New York supermarket chain Fairway Group Holdings Corp. will ask for final permission on a $55 million bankruptcy financing package that allows the company to keep operations going as it restructures.

The company has called the financing, which it received preliminary access to earlier this month, a “cornerstone” of its reorganization. Without the fresh financing, Fairway’s ability to keep its doors open would be in “serious jeopardy,” the company said.

Fairway filed for chapter 11 protection on May 2 after reaching an agreement with lenders that seeks to slash its $279 million in funded debt by half and leave it with enough cash, about $42 million, to ensure a smooth transition out of bankruptcy.

In recent years, Fairway has rapidly expanded its footprint in New York and surrounding states and went public in 2013. But ballooning debt payments began to hinder the company’s growth, and it fell behind to rivals like Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s.

On Thursday, television series producer Core Entertainment Inc. will ask for permission to tap a $30 million bankruptcy loan.

The company behind the “American Idol” franchise secured the financing package from an affiliate and existing lender, Elvis Blue Moon Holdings LLC, but still needs a bankruptcy judge’s permission to begin spending.

Core Entertainment says despite having “sufficient liquidity” after winning approval to tap its lender’s cash last month, the bankruptcy loan will give “confidence” to its vendors, suppliers, employees and independent contractors.

What is more, Core says in court papers that the loan will ensure the “uninterrupted production” of its shows, including the live dance competition “So You Think You Can Dance.”

The bankruptcy loan, which takes a similar form to the prepetition revolver from Elvis Blue Moon, will come with a 5% interest rate that accrued under the prepetition loan.

When Core—and other related companies like 19 Entertainment Ltd.—filed for bankruptcy protection in late April, negotiations were still ongoing with lenders for the financing package.

The thinning “American Idol” audience led Core to seek bankruptcy protection in late April, court papers show. The series aired its final season in April after it was canceled by Fox because of a lack of viewership.

-Lillian Rizzo and Tom Corrigan contributed to this article.

Write to Stephanie Gleason at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @stephgleason