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US bankruptcies surpass 600 in 2020 as coronavirus-era filings keep climbing

U.S. corporate bankruptcy filings continue to increase during the coronavirus crisis as 18 new companies joined the list of 2020 bankruptcies in the last two weeks, according to an S&P Global Market Intelligence analysis.

There have been 610 bankruptcies this year through Dec. 13, exceeding the number of filings seen in any year since 2012. The 18 new filings match the number of bankruptcies reported during the prior two-week period, continuing a slowdown from earlier in the crisis.

Market Intelligence's analysis is limited to public companies or private companies with public debt where either assets or liabilities at the time of the bankruptcy filing are at least $2 million. Private companies without public debt must report at least $10 million in either assets or liabilities at the time of filing.

Companies that entered bankruptcy proceedings Nov. 30-Dec. 13 include Florida-based American Purchasing Services Inc., oil field services company Superior Energy Services Inc., boutique clothing chain Francesca's Holdings Corp. and coal companies White Stallion Energy LLC and Lighthouse Resources Inc.

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American Purchasing Services, which does business as American Medical Depot, distributes medical products. It filed a voluntary petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 on Dec. 11, reporting estimated liabilities of between $50 million and $100 million.

Superior Energy Services, which provides oil field services and equipment to oil and natural gas exploration and production companies, sought Chapter 11 protection Dec. 7. The company claimed liabilities of over $1 billion, making it the only company to join the list of largest 2020 bankruptcies in the last two weeks.

White Stallion and Lighthouse Resources filed Chapter 11 petitions Dec. 2 and Dec. 3, respectively, looking to sell their assets via a bankruptcy reorganization sale process. Each listed assets of between $100 million and $500 million with liabilities in the same range.

Houston-based Francesca's Holdings voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Dec. 3 with plans to implement a sale process.

Editor's note: This Data Dispatch is updated on a bi-weekly basis and the last edition was published Dec. 2. Market Intelligence may remove companies from this list if it discovers that their total assets and liabilities do not meet the threshold requirement for inclusion. Click here to download the charts.

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