Instant Brands Inc., the maker of Instant Pot and Pyrex kitchenware, will solicit offers to sell the business in bankruptcy while considering alternative transactions to restructure more than $500 million in debt on its balance sheet, a company lawyer said yesterday, Bloomberg News reported. Instant Brands lawyer Brian Resnick said during a virtual court hearing that company advisers will explore both options as the company tries to figure out how to get out of chapter 11. The company, which is owned by private-equity firm Cornell Capital, could use chapter 11 to restructure its balance sheet if it can find an investor to fund a chapter 11 plan; a buyer could purchase Instant Brands’ assets or lenders could take over the business in exchange for debt relief, Resnick said. “All those options are on the table,” he said. Instant Brands wants parties to submit indications of interest by July 27 and is targeting an Aug. 23 bid deadline, according to a slide show company lawyers played during Tuesday’s hearing. In the meantime, Instant Brands will continue operating its business as normal, Resnick said. The company already cleared an initial hurdle in its chapter 11: It won court approval for a roughly $133 million chapter 11 financing to fund the business and keep its factories running during bankruptcy. The structure is “somewhat unusual,” Instant Brands lawyer David Schiff said, necessitated by a complex debt deal the business used to raise new money early this year.
