After months of dozens of restaurant closings and headlines about “endless shrimp” woes, Red Lobster says it soon will exit from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

A U.S. bankruptcy judge on Thursday approved the casual seafood chain’s reorganization plan, which includes a lender group led by asset manager Fortress acquiring the business.

The approval arrives under just four months after Red Lobster filed for bankruptcy protection as it pursued a sale, following years of mounting losses and dwindling customers while it struggled to keep up with competitors.

At the time of filing in May, Red Lobster’s leadership shared plans to “simplify the business” through a reduction of locations. The chain, which lost $76 million in 2023, shuttered dozens of its North American restaurants over recent months — both leading up to and during the bankruptcy process. That includes more than 50 locations whose equipment was put up for auction just days before the Chapter 11 petition, followed by additional closures throughout the bankruptcy process.

Red Lobster said Thursday that it expects to operate about 544 locations across the U.S. and Canada upon emerging from bankruptcy. That’s down from 578 disclosed as of May’s bankruptcy filing.

Billionaire forecasts rate cuts to as low as 2.5% by year’s end

Billionaire John Paulson said the Federal Reserve has waited too long to cut interest rates and expects the central bank to lower them in the months ahead.

By the end of next year, “my best guesstimate would be around 3%, perhaps 2.5%” for the federal funds rate, Paulson, 68, said in an interview on Bloomberg Television.

Paulson, known for making a massive bet against mortgage bonds before the 2008 financial crisis, has been among those talked about as a potential Treasury secretary if Donald Trump wins the presidency.

He, along with Cantor Fitzgerald LP Chief Executive Officer Howard Lutnick and Key Square Group LP’s Scott Bessent, attended an Economic Club of New York event Thursday in which Trump pledged to cut the corporate tax rate, slash regulations and audit the federal government if he is elected.

Salesforce in negotiations to buy startup Own for nearly $2 billion

Salesforce Inc. said it was buying data protection and management solutions provider Own for $1.9 billion, the company’s second acquisition in a week.

The deal “underscores our commitment to providing secure, end-to-end solutions that protect our customers’ most valuable data,” Steve Fisher, a Salesforce executive focused on data products, said in a statement confirming an earlier report by Bloomberg News.

Own focuses on securing data across software applications. Since incorporating in 2015, it has received funding from Salesforce Ventures, BlackRock Inc. and Tiger Global. It changed its name from OwnBackup last October, according to Own’s website.

The Salesforce transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter, according to the statement.

Oracle’s Larry Ellison to control Paramount after deal is approved

Paramount Global, the parent of CBS, will be controlled by software billionaire Larry Ellison after a group led by his son David completes its purchase of the Redstone family’s interest in the film and TV company, according to a regulatory filing.

Ellison, the co-founder of Oracle Corp., is backing his son’s proposal to buy the Redstones’ National Amusements Inc. and take control of Paramount for more than $8 billion. According to a filing with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, the older Ellison will own 77.5% of National Amusements through a trust and series of corporations.

Paramount has agreed to be acquired in a deal led by David Ellison and his Skydance Media, an independent film and TV company. The Ellisons, and their partner, RedBird Capital Partners, have agreed to buy National Amusements for $2.4 billion and invest more than $6 billion to acquire Paramount shares and reduce the company’s debt.

Compiled from Associated Press and Bloomberg reports.