TPP Acquisition, Inc., operator of The Picture People portrait studios, filed Chapter 11 in the Northern District of Texas on September 2, 2016 after years of shrinking store count and seasonal liquidity pressure. The first-day record described a 147-studio business across 30 states with about 1,075 employees, led by Chief Restructuring Officer Stuart Noyes, and financed by Monroe Capital Management Advisors as prepetition agent and Monroe Capital entities as lenders source filing source filing. The secured debt drove the case: the final financing order acknowledged not less than $41.3 million of prepetition revolver and term-loan obligations, secured by substantially all assets source filing.

The operating business was sold in November 2016 to TPP OPCO, Inc. for $12 million, structured as a section 363(k) credit bid, with purchased assets transferred free and clear and selected contracts assigned source filing. The April 20 confirmation order finally approved the second amended disclosure statement and confirmed the Debtor/committee joint liquidating plan, moving remaining assets and causes of action into a liquidation trust with Emerald Capital Advisors as trustee source filing. Under the plan, senior secured lenders were treated through the sale structure, general unsecured creditors receive beneficial interests in the trust after senior claims are paid, and equity is cancelled; the disclosure statement put GUC recoveries at a speculative 0%-10% range source filing source filing.