Pillowtex Lays Off 740 Workers
Pillowtex yesterday announced that it has laid off about 740 workers
at its Fieldcrest Cannon plants in Salisbury and Kannapolis, N.C. until
Jan. 3 while it gets rid of excess inventory, according to the
Associated Press. The three mills have been idle for the past two
weeks and when employees reported for work on Sunday, company officials
told them the three mills would remain closed until January.
Executives said the closing was unrelated to Pillowtex's Nov. 14 chapter
11 filing. Don Mallo, company vice president of human resources,
said the company wanted employees to know that the closings were not
because of the bankruptcy filing and decided to talk to workers in
person rather than call them on the telephone. Company officials
did not quantify the amount of excess inventory but said they hoped
sales through January would clear the surplus.
Workers at the three mills won't be paid for December but will receive a
Christmas bonus of one week's pay. The company also will pay
employees an additional two weeks of salary when they return to work in
January. The company is one of the nation's top three
home-furnishings makers and has struggled for more than a year because
of computer conversion problems, weak sales and debt from its 1997
purchase of Fieldcrest.
TearDrop Golf files Chapter 11
Golf equipment maker TearDrop Golf Co. filed for chapter 11 protection
yesterday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, according a newswire
report. The company, which is based in Morton Grove, Ill., listed
assets of $31.4 million and debts of $30.8 million. The 20 largest
unsecured claims are for trade or professional services, with the
largest claim for about $600,000. Chief Executive Officer Rudy
Slucker said the filing was triggered by pressure from creditors.
On Nov. 17, TearDrop said Gen-X Sports Inc. had terminated a merger
agreement but planned to make an offer for all of TearDrop's assets
“free and clear of all liens and encumbrances.” Chief
Financial Officer Joseph Cioni said that the offer “is being
considered” as a possible option. Slucker also said officers
had been authorized to “effect a sale of the assets of the
corporation,” which Cioni said was one of several options.
The company's secured debt includes a $15 million bank loan.
Gorges/Quik-to-Fix Foods Files Chapter 11 Petition
Gorges/Quik-to-Fix Foods Inc., a privately held company headquartered in
Dallas, yesterday announced that it has filed a chapter 11 petition in
the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, according to a newswire
report. The company said it is unable to continue supporting high
capital costs relating to a 1996 leveraged buyout, but plans to emerge
from this process as a properly capitalized growth company.
Gorges/Quik-to-Fix Foods Inc. is a leading producer of value-added meat
products for the food service, retail and food manufacturer markets.
McLane Buys AmeriServe
McLane Company Inc., a distribution firm owned by Wal-Mart Stores Inc.,
said on Friday that it has acquired AmeriServe Food Distribution Inc., a
bankrupt Dallas-based distributor of products to fast food restaurants,
according to a Reuters report. Under the terms of the auction
sale, McLane purchased all of AmeriServe's distribution assets located
in the United States, including 17 distribution centers.
AmeriServe had filed chapter 11 in January 2000.
McLane will assume distribution to Tricon Global Restaurants Inc. as
a result of this deal. AmeriServe, which had sales of more than $3.4
billion, was the primary distributor to Tricon's KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco
Bell restaurants. Tricon Global said in September that it had
expected $80 million to $100 million in charges to be recorded in the
third and fourth quarters from AmeriServe's bankruptcy. Tricon
also said that its preferred solution would be a reorganization of
AmeriServe by McLane.
Bridgestone Says It Won’t Go Bankrupt
Japanese tire maker Bridgestone Corp. today denied that its U.S.
subsidiary could be driven to bankruptcy by damage claims over faulty
tires, saying the expected losses could be covered easily, according to
a Reuters report. Bridgestone President Yoichiro Kaizaki said that
the firm had set aside $450 million in loss charges this year to deal
with claims against Bridgestone/Firestone Inc., whose tires have been
linked to 165 deaths. He said the loss could be easily be covered
by the U.S. unit's reserves which total some $2.3 billion.
“Bridgestone/Firestone is not at a stage where it is considering
filing for bankruptcy,” Kaizaki said, playing down renewed
financial worries about the ailing U.S. subsidiary. However,
investors were not immediately reassured. Shares in Bridgestone took a
steep dive of 13.77 percent today and failed to recover any ground in
late trade. The slide came after plaintiffs' lawyers said
court-awarded damages for selling defective tires involved in fatal
accidents could total $50 billion, bankrupting the U.S. unit.
Kaizaki's comments were largely in line with comments made the day
before by Bridgestone/Firestone officials, who dismissed suggestions
that court-ordered damages would force the second-largest tire maker in
the United States into bankruptcy. “We have no current plans
for bankruptcy,” said Bridgestone/Firestone spokeswoman Christine
Karbowiak. “That is not something we're confronted
with.”
SportsPrize Ceases Operations, Files for Bankruptcy
SportsPrize Entertainment Inc. yesterday announced that it filed a
chapter 7 petition, according to a newswire report. The Los
Angeles-based company ceased operations and shut down
href='http://www.sportsprize.com/'>www.SportsPrize.com, its web site
featuring sports-based entertainment, information. A
court-appointed trustee will oversee the liquidation of the company.
“In this investment climate, there were no other viable
options,” a spokesperson for the company said. “Many
talented people devoted countless hours to building and operating the
company and its web site.”
