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20-11647-jlg Doc 96 Filed 08/06/20 Entered 08/06/20 23:12:00 Main Document Pg 1 of 107 Hearing Date: August 28, 2020, at 11:00 a.m. (prevailing Eastern Time). Objection Deadline: August 21, 2020, at 5:00 p.m. (prevailing Eastern Time). Nicole L. Greenblatt, P.C. Whitney Fogelberg (pro hac vice pending) Susan D. Golden KIRKLAND & ELLIS LLP KIRKLAND & ELLIS LLP KIRKLAND & ELLIS INTERNATIONAL LLP KIRKLAND & ELLIS INTERNATIONAL LLP 300 North LaSalle Street 601 Lexington Avenue Chicago, Illinois 60654 New York, New York 10022 Telephone: (312) 862-2000 Telephone: (212) 446-4800 Facsimile: (312) 862-2200 Facsimile: (212) 446-4900 Proposed Counsel to the Debtors and Debtors in Possession UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK ) In re: ) Chapter 11 ) LAKELAND TOURS, LLC, et al.,1 ) Case No. 20-11647 (JLG) ) Debtors. ) (Jointly Administered) ) NOTICE OF HEARING ON DEBTORS’ APPLICATION FOR ENTRY OF AN ORDER AUTHORIZING THE RETENTION AND EMPLOYMENT OF KIRKLAND & ELLIS LLP AND KIRKLAND & ELLIS INTERNATIONAL LLP AS ATTORNEYS FOR THE DEBTORS AND DEBTORS IN POSSESSION EFFECTIVE AS OF JULY 21, 2020 PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that on August 6, 2020, Lakeland Tours, LLC, d/b/a WorldStrides (“WorldStrides”) and its affiliated debtors in the above-captioned chapter 11 cases, as debtors and debtors in possession (collectively, the “Debtors”), filed the Debtors’ Application for Entry of an Order Authorizing the Retention and Employment of Kirkland & Ellis LLP and 1 The Debtors in these chapter 11 cases, along with the last four digits of each Debtor’s federal tax identification number, are: Lakeland Tours, LLC (2946); Brightspark Travel, Inc. (4913); Explorica Merida Holdings, LLC (6915); Explorica Travel, Inc. (4040); Explorica, Inc. (3247); GlobaLinks - Canada, LLC (0811); GlobaLinks, LLC (6865); Heritage Education & Festivals, LLC (6352); International Studies Abroad, LLC (4025); ISA World Holding, LLC (5258); Lakeland Finance, LLC (9273); Lakeland Holdings, LLC (2612); Lakeland Intermediate, LLC (1831); Lakeland Seller Finance, LLC (0866); Leadership Platform Acquisition Corporation (4276); National Educational Travel Council, LLC (5704); Oxbridge Academic Resources, LLC (6010); Travel Turf, Inc. (0766); WH Blocker, Inc. (5344); WorldStrides Holdings, LLC (5007); WorldStrides International, LLC (6303); WS Holdings Acquisition, Inc. (9485); WS Holdings, Inc. (0057); WS Purchaser, Inc. (0370). The location of the Debtors’ service address in these chapter 11 cases is: 49 West 45th Street, New York, NY 10036. 1 KE 70347183 20-11647-jlg Doc 96 Filed 08/06/20 Entered 08/06/20 23:12:00 Main Document Pg 2 of 107 Kirkland & Ellis International LLP as Attorneys for the Debtors and Debtors in Possession Effective as of July 21, 2020 (the “Application”). A hearing on the Application will be held before the Honorable James L. Garrity, Jr. of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (the “Court”), in Courtroom 601, One Bowling Green, New York, New York 10004-1408, on August 28, 2020, at 11:00 a.m. (prevailing Eastern Time). PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that any responses or objections (each, an “Objection”) to the Application and the relief requested therein shall be in writing, shall conform to the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure and the Local Bankruptcy Rules for the Southern District of New York (the “Local Rules”), shall set forth the basis for the Objection and the specific grounds therefore, and shall be filed with the Court electronically in accordance with General Order M-399 by registered users of the Court’s case filing system (the User’s Manual for the Electronic Case Filing System can be found at http://www.nysb.uscourts.gov, the official website for the Court), and served—so as to be actually received no later than August 21, 2020, at 5:00 p.m. (prevailing Eastern Time) (the “Objection Deadline”)—on each of the below parties: a. Kirkland & Ellis LLP, 601 Lexington Avenue, New York, New York 10022 (Attn: Nicole Greenblatt, P.C. and Susan D. Golden) and Kirkland & Ellis LLP, 300 North LaSalle Street, Chicago, Illinois 60654 (Attn: Whitney Fogelberg), the attorneys for the Debtors and b. Arnold & Porter, 250 W 55th Street, New York, NY 10019 (Attn: Michael L. Bernstein, Benjamin Mintz, Peta Gordon, Lucas B. Barrett). PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that, upon filing of an Objection, parties who file an Objection must deliver to the Court two hard copies of such Objection printed singled sided. PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that if no Objections or other responses are timely filed and served with respect to the Application, the Debtors shall, on or after the Objection Deadline, submit to the Proposed Order to the Court, which order the Court may enter without further notice or opportunity to be heard. 20-11647-jlg Doc 96 Filed 08/06/20 Entered 08/06/20 23:12:00 Main Document Pg 3 of 107 PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that copies of the Application and all other pleadings filed in these chapter 11 cases may be obtained free of charge by visiting the website of Stretto at https://cases.stretto.com/WorldStrides.. You may also obtain copies of any pleadings by visiting the Court’s website at http://www.nysb.uscourts.gov in accordance with the procedures and fees set forth therein. Dated: August 6, 2020 /s/ Nicole L. Greenblatt New York, New York Nicole L. Greenblatt, P.C. Susan D. Golden KIRKLAND & ELLIS LLP KIRKLAND & ELLIS INTERNATIONAL LLP 601 Lexington Avenue New York, New York 10022 Telephone: (212) 446-4800 Facsimile: (212) 446-4900 - and - Whitney Fogelberg (pro hac vice pending) KIRKLAND & ELLIS LLP KIRKLAND & ELLIS INTERNATIONAL LLP 300 North LaSalle Street Chicago, Illinois 60654 Telephone: (312) 862-2000 Facsimile: (312) 862-2200 Proposed Counsel to the Debtors and Debtors in Possession 20-11647-jlg Doc 96 Filed 08/06/20 Entered 08/06/20 23:12:00 Main Document Pg 4 of 107 Nicole L. Greenblatt, P.C. Whitney Fogelberg (pro hac vice pending) Susan D. Golden KIRKLAND & ELLIS LLP KIRKLAND & ELLIS LLP KIRKLAND & ELLIS INTERNATIONAL LLP KIRKLAND & ELLIS INTERNATIONAL LLP 300 North LaSalle Street 601 Lexington Avenue Chicago, Illinois 60654 New York, New York 10022 Telephone: (312) 862-2000 Telephone: (212) 446-4800 Facsimile: (312) 862-2200 Facsimile: (212) 446-4900 Proposed Counsel to the Debtors and Debtors in Possession UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK ) In re: ) Chapter 11 ) LAKELAND TOURS, LLC, et al.,1 ) Case No. 20-11647 (JLG) ) Debtors. ) (Jointly Administered) ) DEBTORS’ APPLICATION FOR ENTRY OF AN ORDER AUTHORIZING THE RETENTION AND EMPLOYMENT OF KIRKLAND & ELLIS LLP AND KIRKLAND & ELLIS INTERNATIONAL LLP AS ATTORNEYS FOR THE DEBTORS AND DEBTORS IN POSSESSION EFFECTIVE AS OF JULY 21, 2020 The above-captioned debtors and debtors in possession (collectively, the “Debtors”) file this application (the “Application”) for the entry of an order (the “Order”), substantially in the form attached hereto as Exhibit A, authorizing the Debtors to retain and employ Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Kirkland & Ellis International LLP (collectively, “Kirkland”) as their attorneys 1 The Debtors in these chapter 11 cases, along with the last four digits of each Debtor’s federal tax identification number, are: Lakeland Tours, LLC (2946); Brightspark Travel, Inc. (4913); Explorica Merida Holdings, LLC (6915); Explorica Travel, Inc. (4040); Explorica, Inc. (3247); GlobaLinks - Canada, LLC (0811); GlobaLinks, LLC (6865); Heritage Education & Festivals, LLC (6352); International Studies Abroad, LLC (4025); ISA World Holding, LLC (5258); Lakeland Finance, LLC (9273); Lakeland Holdings, LLC (2612); Lakeland Intermediate, LLC (1831); Lakeland Seller Finance, LLC (0866); Leadership Platform Acquisition Corporation (4276); National Educational Travel Council, LLC (5704); Oxbridge Academic Resources, LLC (6010); Travel Turf, Inc. (0766); WH Blocker, Inc. (5344); WorldStrides Holdings, LLC (5007); WorldStrides International, LLC (6303); WS Holdings Acquisition, Inc. (9485); WS Holdings, Inc. (0057); WS Purchaser, Inc. (0370). The location of the Debtors’ service address in these chapter 11 cases is: 49 West 45th Street, New York, NY 10036. 20-11647-jlg Doc 96 Filed 08/06/20 Entered 08/06/20 23:12:00 Main Document Pg 5 of 107 effective as of the Petition Date (as defined herein). In support of this Application, the Debtors submit the declaration of Nicole L. Greenblatt, the president of Nicole L. Greenblatt, P.C., a partner of Kirkland & Ellis LLP, and a partner of Kirkland & Ellis International LLP (the “Greenblatt Declaration”), which is attached hereto as Exhibit B and the declaration of Kellie Goldstein, the Chief Financial Officer of Lakeland Tours, LLC, d/b/a WorldStrides, which is attached hereto as Exhibit C (the “Goldstein Declaration”). In further support of this Application, the Debtors respectfully state as follows. Jurisdiction and Venue 1. The United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (the “Court”) has jurisdiction over this matter pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 157 and 1334. This matter is a core proceeding within the meaning of 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2). 2. Venue is proper pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1408 and 1409. 3. The bases for the relief requested herein are sections 327(a) and 330 of title 11 of the United States Code, 11 U.S.C. §§ 101–1532 (the “Bankruptcy Code”), rules 2014(a) and 2016 of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure (the “Bankruptcy Rules”), and rules 2014-1 and 2016-1 of the Local Bankruptcy Rules for the Southern District of New York (the “Local Rules”). Background 4. The Debtors, together with their non-Debtor affiliates, provide full-service educational travel and experiential learning programs domestically and internationally for students from K12 to graduate level. The Debtors are the United States’ largest accredited travel company, providing organized educational travel and other experiential learning programs for more than 550,000 students in 2019. The Debtors generated approximately $650 million in net revenue in fiscal year 2019, and employ approximately 1,500 people domestically and internationally.