Delaware

Delaware bankruptcy court says Yellow owes pensions, stock drops 90%

Published

4 months ago

September 13, 2024

Delaware bankruptcy court says Yellow owes pensions, stock drops 90%

Shares of Yellow fell 90% Friday afternoon following a Delaware court’s decision on its pension liabilities. (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

A Delaware bankruptcy court provided some clarity late Friday regarding $6.5 billion in withdrawal liability claims against Yellow Corp. The total amount the bankrupt less-than-truckload company will actually pay, however, remains to be decided. The mere fact that the estate will have to make good on some portion of the claims sent Yellow’s stock spiraling.

Shares of Yellow (OTC: YELLQ) fell 90% on Friday to 50 cents per share as stockholders realized their bet that the company’s asset value would exceed amounts owed to creditors may not come to fruition.

MFN Partners, which acquired a more than 40% equity stake in Yellow in the day’s leading up to a bankruptcy filing last summer, is the largest holder. However, the Boston-based private equity firm provided the company with bankruptcy financing during its liquidation, the interest and fees from which have helped offset its equity exposure.

The U.S. Treasury holds a 30% stake in Yellow. The equity was issued as part of a collateral package for a $700 million Covid-relief loan it provided to the company in 2020.

Multiemployer pension plans (MEPPs) to which Yellow once contributed claim the carrier’s abrupt shutdown a year ago means it’s now on the hook for its allocable share of unfunded vested benefits. However, Yellow has said that the plans are fully funded now, following a 2021 pension fund bailout package (the American Rescue Plan Act). Yellow contends its exposure is a fraction of the amounts claimed, if anything.

The legislation provided pension insurer Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. the authority to craft guidelines to make sure the money would only be used to cover plan benefits and costs, and not to allow employers to skirt withdrawal liability.

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. created two regulations. The first said special financial assistance awarded to the MEPPs wouldn’t be recognized as a plan asset until the money was actually received. The second mandated the recognition of the funds would be phased in over time even though they were distributed in a lump sum.

The organization said the goal was to keep other contributing employers from using the bailout as a way to exit the plans. Immediate recognition would mean the MEPPs are fully funded, removing any unfunded vested benefits and consequently an employer’s withdrawal liability. That could have created a mass exodus from the plans, PBGC claimed.

Judge Craig Goldblatt’s Friday opinion sided with both the MEPPs and to an extent Yellow.

He said PBGC acted within its authority when putting up the guardrails on the program and that the MEPPs didn’t have to recognize the payments as an asset until received, and that they could be phased in. The implication is that Yellow is now responsible for some form of withdrawal liability to 11 different MEPPs that received government funds.

Central States Pension Fund holds nearly $5 billion in withdrawal liability claims against Yellow. It was awarded $35.8 billion in special financial assistance on Dec. 5, 2022, but didn’t receive the funds until Jan. 12, 2023, after its plan year ended. Yellow filed for bankruptcy on Aug. 6, 2023. The unfunded vested benefit calculation used plan year 2022 to determine the amount owed.

“The regulations implement Congress’s specific directive in the American Rescue Plan Act that special financial assistance be used only to pay plan benefits and costs,” Goldblatt said. “The regulations prevent such funds from instead being used, in effect, to reduce amounts that employers would otherwise be required to pay upon withdrawal from a plan.”

However, Goldblatt also entered a partial summary judgment in favor of Yellow, citing that the 20-year cap (established by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act) should be placed on the company’s total withdrawal exposure. Essentially, the court ruled that Yellow is responsible for 20 times its annual contribution amount per the statute. Past court filings from Yellow have estimated a total liability of roughly $1 billion when using the 20-year cap.

Yellow previously asserted discounting to present value should apply to the 20-year stream of payments. However, Goldblatt said its default on the contributions accelerates the amounts to “presently due and owing,” and no discounting is needed.

He also upheld an agreement inked between Yellow and Teamsters funds in New York and Western Pennsylvania. Yellow reentered those funds in 2013 under a deal in which it would contribute just 25% of the usual rate, but it would repay any withdrawal liabilities assuming a 100% contribution rate if it withdrew.

Goldblatt directed the parties to hash out the actual amounts due. He said the task may be “relatively easy to resolve” now that the court has ruled on the disputed legal questions.

Yellow still faces a much smaller pool of withdrawal liability claims from pensions that didn’t receive special financial assistance.

The 11 MEPPs party to the Friday opinion received more than $40 billion in assistance from the government.

More FreightWaves articles by Todd Maiden

The post Delaware bankruptcy court says Yellow owes pensions, stock drops 90% appeared first on FreightWaves.

Source link

Click to comment

Delaware

Delaware Lottery Powerball, Play 3 Day winning numbers for Jan. 8, 2025

Published

18 minutes ago

January 9, 2025

Press Room

Delaware Lottery Powerball, Play 3 Day winning numbers for Jan. 8, 2025

The Delaware Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025 results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from Jan. 8 drawing

01-20-36-38-43, Powerball: 24, Power Play: 2

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Play 3 numbers from Jan. 8 drawing

Day: 3-6-9

Night: 7-3-7

Check Play 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Play 4 numbers from Jan. 8 drawing

Day: 9-2-5-9

Night: 3-4-5-3

Check Play 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Multi-Win Lotto numbers from Jan. 8 drawing

02-03-17-23-26-34

Check Multi-Win Lotto payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lucky For Life numbers from Jan. 8 drawing

13-14-24-37-38, Lucky Ball: 13

Check Lucky For Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lotto America numbers from Jan. 8 drawing

04-15-33-39-41, Star Ball: 07, ASB: 02

Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Play 5 numbers from Jan. 8 drawing

Day: 8-0-9-9-9

Night: 5-9-5-0-9

Check Play 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize

Sign the Ticket: Establish legal ownership by signing the back of your ticket with an ink pen.
Prizes up to $599: Claim at any Delaware Lottery Retailer, in person at the Delaware Lottery Office, or mail your signed ticket and claim form; print your name/address on the ticket’s back and keep a copy/photo for records. By mail, send original tickets and documentation to: Delaware Lottery, 1575 McKee Road, Suite 102, Dover, DE 19904.
Prizes up to $2,500: Claim in person at Delaware Lottery Retailer Claim Centers throughout Kent, Sussex and New Castle Counties.
Prizes of $5,001 or more: Claim in person at the Delaware Lottery Office (business days 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.) with a photo ID and Social Security card.
For all prize claims, directions to the Delaware Lottery Office are available online or via mapquest.com for a map.

Check previous winning numbers and payouts at Delaware Lottery.

Can I claim a jackpot prize anonymously in Delaware?

Fortunately for First State residents, the Delaware Lottery allows winners remain anonymous. Unlike many other states that require a prize be over a certain jackpot, Delawareans can remain anonymous no matter how much, or how little, they win.

How long do I have to claim my prize in Delaware?

Tickets are valid for up to one year past the drawing date for drawing game prizes or within one year of the announced end of sales for Instant Games, according to delottery.com.

When are the Delaware Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 10:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 11:00 p.m. on Tuesday and Friday.
Play 3, 4: Daily at 1:58 p.m. and 7:57 p.m., except Sunday afternoon.
Multi-Win Lotto: 7:57 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
Lucky for Life: Daily at 10:38 p.m.
Lotto America: 11:00 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday

Missed a draw? Peek at the past week’s winning numbers.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Delaware Online digital operations manager. You can send feedback using this form.

Source link

Delaware

BREAKING: Hazardous materials incident from Perdue prompts shelter in place order in Georgetown – 47abc

Published

8 hours ago

January 8, 2025

Press Room

BREAKING: Hazardous materials incident from Perdue prompts shelter in place order in Georgetown – 47abc

GEORGETOWN, Del. – Georgetown Police have issued an alert advising area residents to shelter in place due to a hazardous materials incident stemming from the local Perdue plant.

According to the Georgetown Fire Company, as of 7 p.m., Wednesday fire crews, Sussex County public safety personnel, DNREC officials, and members with the Delaware State Fire School were on the scene of a hazardous materials incident at the Perdue processing plant on Savannah Road in Georgetown.

While details remain limited at this time, officials are emphasizing the need for the immediate area, within a half-mile radius of the Perdue plant, to shelter in place and stay inside until further notice.

WMDT’s Rob Petree spoke to Georgetown Mayor Bill West who said the incident stemmed from two chemicals being mixed together at the facility.

“We’ve had somebody mix two chemicals together at the Perdue plant that has put off a smell,” Mayor West explained. “We’ve got a chemist in route to tell us what they are and if there’s anything we need to do.”

Mayor West urged area residents to abide by the order and not go outside for the time being.

“Hopefully, it’ll be chemicals just to do some cleaning and it won’t affect people, but we just wanted to put the alert out to tell people to shelter inside, and stay there until they get the second alert that everything’s ok. Just stay inside until we get a handle on this because we know that the wind is pushing the smell and people are concerned.”

Details still remain limited at this time when it comes to the nature of what those chemicals are, but the shelter in place order remains in effect for that area. We will of course bring you the latest as soon as additional information is made available.

Source link

Delaware

Light snow to fall in parts of Del., NJ, Philly region on Saturday

Published

16 hours ago

January 8, 2025

Press Room

Light snow to fall in parts of Del., NJ, Philly region on Saturday

We’re in for another round of snow in the Philadelphia region this weekend though much less than what we saw on Monday. Here’s what you need to know.

Cold temperatures continue

We’ll stay dry through the rest of the week, but the cold weather lingers. Gusty winds from Wednesday and Thursday will finally ease as high pressure builds into the area on Friday. Temperatures will nudge upward to 36° by Friday afternoon, though that’s still below the normal high of 42°.

Light snow in Philly region Saturday morning

As we head into the weekend, our stretch of dry days comes to an end. Clouds will increase late Friday ahead of a weak system. Early Saturday morning, with temperatures in the 20s, this system is expected to bring light snow to all of our neighborhoods. The snowfall will be brief and minimal, exiting by late Saturday morning, followed by clearing skies in the afternoon.

How much snow will fall on Saturday?

Thanks to dry air and limited moisture, snowfall amounts will be light—most areas will see an inch or less. However, parts of Delaware and South Jersey, closer to the system’s southern track, may pick up 1–2 inches. These are early estimates, but all signs point to a minimal event, far less impactful than last Monday’s storm. Saturday afternoon will feature sunshine but stay cold, with highs in the mid-30s.

What’s the forecast for the Eagles wild card game?

Sunday remains clear and cold, with highs around 37°. For the Eagles game at 4:30 p.m., temperatures will start in the upper 30s and drop to the lower 30s by the fourth quarter under clear skies. Go Eagles!

Download the NBC10 app and follow the NBC10 First Alert Weather Team to get the latest weather updates.

Source link