NewPage Corp., the largest producer of magazine paper in North America, filed for bankruptcy Wednesday, chalking up a loss for its owner Cerberus Capital Management. Cerberus paid $2.3 billion for the company in 2005, and had been trying to restructure $4.2 billion in debt since earlier this year, Reuters reports. With $3.4 billion in assets, the bankruptcy is the biggest Chapter 11 filing of the year and the largest filing of a non-financial company since 2009, according to Bankruptcydata.com.

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group is in talks to buy a 50% stake in Japan’s Aozora Bank, Reuters reported. The stake, currently owned by buyout shop Cerberus Capital, is valued at about $4.2 billion. Aozora has 20 branches and overseas representative branches with total assets of 4.85 trillion yen ($63 billion), Reuters wrote.

German property group GSW, which is owned by Goldman Sachs‘s Whitehall fund and private equity firm Cerberus Capital, is planning an initial public offering for the second quarter, Reuters reported. It’s the company’s second attempt at a public listing. The company shelved plans for an IPO in May because of concern over the Greek debt crisis.

Australian brewing company Foster’s Group will vote April 29 on the proposed spin-off of its wine unit – a business with net assets of about $2.8 billion, Reuters said. The beer and wine businesses are both expected to attract private equity firms as well as trade buyers, Reuters said. Foster’s turned away buyout shop Cerberus Capital last September, when it offered $2.5 billion for the wine business.

Properties: Cerberus to buy Silverleaf Resorts

Feelin’ Gassy: Indian Reliance Industries could elbow Chevron aside in bidding for Atlas Energy

Come Again?!?: Congress wants to hear a little more from Whitney on her muni doomsday call

Snitchin’: On the heels of the Justice Department, the S.E.C. raps six with insider trading charges

Perry Ellis International Inc. will pay roughly $70 million to buy Rafaella Apparel Group from private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, Reuters reported. The deal is expected to close by the end of January. Rafaella, which sells its sportswear and workwear in department stores, had revenues of roughly $122 million for the trailing 12-month period ended Sept. 30, Reuters wrote.

Private equity shop Cerberus Capital is looking to sell auto lender Chrysler Financial, Reuters reported, citing a Bloomberg report. Cerberus bought the Farmington, Michigan-based business as part of its 2007 buyout of Chrysler LLC. The business has a book value of between $6 billion and $7 billion, Reuters said.

(Reuters) – Remington Arms Co, the gunmaker owned by Cerberus Capital Management LP, said on Friday its Chief Executive Theodore Torbeck has resigned.

The news comes as Remington Arms, and its parent company Freedom Group Inc, prepare for an initial public offering. The group filed for a $200 million IPO in October 2009 [ID:nBNG401740].

Torbeck joined the company in early 2008 and became chief executive in March 2009. His resignation is effective September 24, the company said.

Unlike the Big Three carmakers, small auto parts suppliers didn’t crash and burn with the recent market downturn.

In 2008, when GM had yet to file for bankruptcy and a merger of the Big Three automakers was still being discussed, many auto parts suppliers were expected to merge or file for bankruptcy. Some big ones went down, but smaller suppliers, like SRG Global, survived the downturn and are doing well.

“People expected a lot of consolidation to happen where larger companies bought smaller ones or a lot of bankruptcies,” says Mike Benson, a managing director with Stout Risius Ross Advisors. “Neither of those happened. In fact, lots of smaller companies that people thought were washed out, just barely survived.”

As usual, we have a week’s worth of ratings actions on the debt of LBO-backed companies by Moody’s Investors Service Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services.

Company: Rafaella Apparel Group
Sponsor: Cerberus Capital Management LP
Action: S&P lowered its corporate credit rating on Rafaella to ‘CC’ from ‘CCC’ and its issue-level rating on the senior secured notes to ‘C’ from ‘CCC-’.
Highlight: The company commenced a modified Dutch auction tender offer to purchase up to 51% of its outstanding 11.25% senior secured notes due 2011.