BKwire’s proprietary software interacts with Pacer.gov to extract all bankruptcy filings and companies impacted, sorting through thousands of filings daily and categorizing them into the appropriate BKwire Zones, Chapter Types, Geographical area, and other key metrics.

Frequently Asked Questions:

PACER (Public Access of Court Electronic Records) has long been the go-to system for accessing federal bankruptcy records. However, its flaws and drawbacks have left many users frustrated and seeking alternatives. The BKwire platform offers a fresh approach to accessing corporate bankruptcy documents, addressing the unpredictability of PACER’s fees, difficult interface and trying to change how businesses professionals access bankruptcy data.

After sorting the information from Pacer, BKwire presents it in bifurcated views—one for largest daily corporate bankruptcies and one for companies impacted by bankruptcy.

No. The BKwire database began updating in the 4th quarter 2022.

BKwire’s database is refreshed each weekday before 12pm EST.

BKwire provides the following Corporate Bankruptcies:

  • Chapter 7: Liquidation
  • Chapter 11: Reorganization, Restructuring under the bankruptcy code
  • Involuntary Bankruptcy: Forced, Unexpected, Creditor-Driven

All memberships include daily bankruptcy filings, companies impacted by the bankruptcy (top unsecured creditors), and BKwire’s exclusive insights. Including each bankruptcy petition (if available), BKwire Zone News, and access to the BKwire Watchlist.

Yes.  With the BKwire team and MVP membership, subscribers can download all the BKwire information in Excel format.

Yes. The MVP plan allows BKwire users the ability to refresh and download case documents.

During the bankruptcy process, companies may require additional  time to file missing documents. If a company has not filed the schedule containing the impacted businesses, BKwire will display a status of “Impacted Businesses not available yet”. During this time all memberships can move the bankruptcy filing to your watchlist. BKwire will continue to monitor your cases in the watchlist and notify you when the impacted business is available.

NO. At this time BKwire allows you to move any company only in the BKwire database to your watchlist.

From time to time the bankruptcy petitions extracted by BKwire from Pacer are difficult to read due to poor formatting. When you find a column that states ‘see petition’ this is BKwire’s way of informing you the information was difficult to read, foreign address, or could be an involuntary bankruptcy filing. In these cases, we have manually reviewed and extracted the information from the petition. This process can take a considerable amount of time due to the sheer volume of bankruptcy filings each week. We always try to provide you with the best possible data available, but some may not be perfect due to formatting issues or language barriers.

BKwire Key Terms/Definitions

businesspeople-standing-togetherCorporate Bankruptcy – is a debtor that has filed for bankruptcy protection under federal law, which is a legal process that provides relief from debts and a fresh start to the financial situation, but it can have long-term consequences.

Impacted Business – is an unsecured creditor that extended credit to another company without first obtaining a collateral agreement.  In the event of bankruptcy or default, unsecured creditors are lower in priority compared to secured creditors and have a higher risk of not being repaid.

Loss – the unsecured claim amount displayed on the bankruptcy schedule.

Bankruptcy Petition – Provides detailed information about the debtor (bankrupt company) financial situation, including their assets, liabilities, income, expenses, and debts. The court uses this information to determine the dischargeable debts and exempt assets, making it a crucial document in the bankruptcy process.

Case Information – MVP Refresh only – a chronological list of each business bankruptcy event summarizing the court proceeding.

The BKwire Zones – BKwire’s algorithm groups companies into 18 different sectors, allowing you to quickly locate businesses relevant to their own industries.

Corporate Bankruptcy Types:

  • 7 Liquidation (Official form 201) A chapter 7 bankruptcy terminates the company’s operations and liquidates its assets. A trustee is appointed to oversee the process of maximizing creditor repayment from these assets.
  • 11 Reorganization (Official form 201) The section of the Bankruptcy Code that provides for reorganization, usually involving a corporation or partnership.  In a chapter 11 proceeding, companies propose a plan of reorganization that allows them to continue operating their business while paying suppliers or creditors over time.
  • Involuntary (Official form 205) Under the bankruptcy code, suppliers/creditors can initiate an involuntary bankruptcy action against a debtor by filing a petition with the court. The conditions that must be met under Section 303 of the bankruptcy code include:
    • A single Supplier/creditor can generally initiate an involuntary bankruptcy if: There are fewer than 12 unsecured creditors. They are owed a certain amount of money ($16,750 as of 2022)
    • Multiple suppliers/creditors can generally commence an involuntary bankruptcy if: At least three creditors participate in the petition. They are collectively owed a certain amount of money ($16,750 as of 2022)
  • Sub Chapter V bankruptcy Available to businesses that are pursuing business activities and have debt of up to $2.75 million. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act was enacted in March 2020 to aid small businesses struggling as a result of the pandemic. The law expanded Subchapter 5 eligibility for one-year debt relief to companies with debts up to $7.5 million.  Subchapter V benefits included continued business operations, no creditor approval, only the bankrupt business can file a plan, special trustee, expenses paid in installments.

Date Added vs Date Filed – BKwire allows you to sort the corporate bankruptcy results by either the date they were added to the BKwire system (Date Added), or the actual date filed in the corresponding bankruptcy court (Date Filed). When you’re looking at the bankrupt companies, occasionally the filing date isn’t immediately available. That’s because each district bankruptcy court updates PACER with new cases at different times, and it can take up to two days for a case to appear in BKwire’s database. BKwire adds all companies to the database as they are available in the PACER system.

Trustee – An individual to oversee a bankruptcy case, responsible for administering the bankruptcy estate and ensuring that the process is fair and equitable for all parties involved. Their duties include reviewing the debtor’s financial affairs, liquidating assets, collecting, and distributing payments to creditors, and resolving disputes between the debtor and creditors.