Ormet Corp., the operator of an Ohio aluminum smelter, won court approval to hold an auction to sell virtually all its assets, with an affiliate of lender Wayzata Investment Partners LLC making the lead bid, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. Bankruptcy Judge Mary Walrath approved the procedures that will govern the auction process and also granted the company final approval of a $90 million loan from Wayzata and Wells Fargo Capital Finance LLC, according to court documents. Wayzata is providing $30 million and Wells Fargo the remaining $60 million. Ormet will hold an auction on May 13 to see if there are any potential buyers willing to top Wayzata’s stalking-horse offer of about $221 million in debt forgiveness, court filings show. The case is In re Ormet Corp., 13-bk-10334, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware (Wilmington).
