Judge Brendan Linehan Shannon

Brookstone, the luxury-gadget retailer, won bankruptcy court approval of its plan to sell the chain to a group of Chinese buyers for about $174 million that will be used to pay creditors. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Brendan Linehan Shannon yesterday in Wilmington, Delaware, approved the sale to a company backed by the Chinese conglomerate Sanpower Group and the Hong Kong-based private equity firm Sailing Capital. The sale is the cornerstone of the retailer's bankruptcy exit plan, also approved today. "Today marks a new chapter in Brookstone's history," CEO Jim Speltz said in an emailed statement. 

The party supplies distributor aims to reduce its funded debt by more than 70% to $200 million. Carlyle Group-backed party supplies distributor Oriental Trading Co. of Omaha has filed a pre-packaged bankruptcy petition that it said would reduce its funded debt by more than 70% to $200 million. Carlyle invested in Oriental Trading in 2006, acquiring a majority stake from Brentwood Associates, which held onto a 25% holding. Terms of the deal were undisclosed but published reports valued the transaction at close to $1 billion. Calls into the company were not returned by press time. In its Chapter 11