Advanta Ventures, Credit Card Issuer’s Unit, Files Bankruptcy

Nov. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Advanta Ventures Inc., a unit of bankrupt small business credit-card issuer Advanta Corp., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection along with Advanta units BizEquity Corp. and Ideablob Corp.

Advanta Ventures listed assets and debt of $100 million to $500 million, according to documents filed yesterday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware. Bank of New York Mellon Corp. is the company’s largest unsecured creditor, according to court filings.

Advanta Corp. filed for bankruptcy Nov. 9 and said its undercapitalized banking unit may be turned over to regulators. The Spring House, Pennsylvania-based company cut off almost 1 million accounts as defaults soared.

The lender, the 15-biggest card issuer by purchase volume last year, sought court protection from creditors because Advanta won’t be able to meet its obligations even with almost $100 million in cash and equivalents on hand, the company said Nov. 8.

BizEquity, Ideablob and Advanta Credit Card Receivables Corp., another Advanta unit that filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11, all listed assets and debt of $100 million to $500 million in court filings.

The case is In re Advanta Ventures Inc., 09-14125, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware (Wilmington).

To contact the reporter on this story: Karen Gullo in San Francisco at kgullo@bloomberg.net.