A stalking horse bidder makes the first bid in an bankruptcy auction, setting the initial price and structure of the sale– but there are some disadvantages.

A distressed business has a multitude of options to explore. Understand how Bankruptcy Code Section 363 works during a business bankruptcy.

Ordinary asset purchase? Article 9 sale? Bankruptcy acquisition? When buying a distressed business, the type of purchase should be top of mind.

Sellers and buyers must know the key elements of selling a distressed business outside of bankruptcy. Levels of protection vary on both sides.

In this installment we introduce you to the UCC generally, focusing on Article 9 to illustrate its importance in the context of business distress.

The ABCs of ABCs, Business Bankruptcy, & Corporate Restructuring/Insolvency In Installment 5, we walked through the lifecycle of a hypothetical traditional chapter 11, and in Installment 6 we discussed key concepts you must comprehend in order to understand any chapter 11 case. Now we pull the camera back and turn our focus away from chapter 11 specifically, to look more broadly at the options available to a company (that is, a “debtor”) and to its various constituents (e.g., creditors and equity owners) when that company is experiencing financial distress so […]

What Distressed Asset Investors Can Glean from Low Interest Rates, Rising Asset Prices and Insolvency on the Horizon DailyDAC readers know that we try to confine ourselves to publishing “evergreen” thought leadership—general education for business owners and investors about business bankruptcy, its alternatives, and related subjects. There isn’t a stark line between the news of the day about the Markets and the Economy, on the one hand, and the world that is our stock and trade. We have, in the past few weeks, had a number of conversations with some […]

Creative Destruction and an Inevitable Fall: What Can We Learn From the Penthouse Magazine Bankruptcy? Penthouse International, publisher of Penthouse Magazine, sold for $11.2 million in June of 2018. The company was worth about $700 million (adjusted for inflation) at its height. The latest Penthouse Magazine bankruptcy highlights just how far Penthouse has fallen, and what lessons can be learned regarding bankruptcy in general. The New Owner The buyer was WGCZ, which also owns XVideos.com and Bangbros.com. XVideos, in turn, functions as an aggregator (just as YouTube is an aggregator […]

August 25, 2020 – In an unusual twist to an unusual asset sale process, the Court hearing the Northwest Company cases approved the $31.46mn sale of the Debtors’ assets to Ashford Textiles, LLC and Ashford Partners, LLC (together, “Ashford” or “Purchaser”) [Docket No. 301]. The asset purchase agreement (the “APA”) governing terms of the sale is attached to the order as Exhibit 1. On August 7th, the Debtors named Ashford as the back-up bidder, with Cathay Home, Inc. (“Cathay”) named as the successful bidder, notwithstanding that the Cathay bid was […]

NOTICE OF PUBLIC SALE ON MAY 13TH ASSETS OF CALUMET ABRASIVES CO., INC. 1. What is for sale? Certain items of machinery and equipment belonging to Debtor (defined below) and used in the manufacture of industrial abrasive cutting and grinding products (the “Collateral”). The Collateral includes, without limitation, molding presses, mixing equipment, testing equipment and support items. 2. Who is the Debtor? Calumet Abrasives Co., Inc., an Indiana corporation (“Debtor”). 3. Who is selling the Collateral? First Midwest Bank, an Illinois banking corporation (“Creditor”), as the holder and owner of certain credit agreements (including, but not limited to, certain business loan agreements, promissory notes, security agreements and other collateral documents) evidencing indebtedness, and securing payment thereof, owed by Debtor to Creditor. 4. When and where is the sale? The sale will be held on May 13, 2020 at 2:00 p.m. and will be conducted remotely using a call-in phone number […]