The bankruptcy of Diamond Comic Distributors continues to be profitable for the professionals working on it; professional fees billed from filing through the end of June now total over $9 million. 

We previously reported on the $2.3 million billed in April (see "April Was a Big Month for Fees"), which may end up being the top month for fees in the process.  May and June fees totaled only $2,538,808 for the two months combined.

Those included:

  • $933,939 for Diamond Attorneys Saul Ewing LLP
  • $1,103,918 for restructuring consultants Getzler Henrich & Associates LLP
  • $296,408 for unsecured creditor attorneys Lowenstein Sandler LLP
  • $18,010 for unsecured creditor local counsel Tydings & Rosenberg LLP
  • $186,533 for unsecured creditor consultants Berkeley Research Group LLC

That brings the total professional fees through the end of June to around $9.39 million.  Still pending are the work on the sale of Diamond UK last month (see "Diamond Moves to Sell Diamond UK"); the ongoing litigation between Diamond Comic Distributors purchaser Ad Populum and Alliance Entertainment, in which Diamond is involved (see "Sparkle Pop Amends Complaint"); and the ongoing dispute over Diamond's proposal to seize and liquidate the consignment inventory in its warehouse (see "New Filings in Diamond Consignment Dispute"); as well as the restructuring work to complete the asset sales and disburse available funds to creditors.

There’s a lot of concern over the disputes and their potential to take an extended period (and high costs) to resolve. The concern led the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors to file a statement with the court urging an expedited resolution of the consignment inventory dispute, urging the court to take specific steps to speed the dispute along toward a settlement.

These fees do not include fees to investment banker Raymond James and DIP lender JPMorganChase, which will be substantial.