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ABI Journal

Asset Sales

A Basic Explanation of the Sale in Playhut Inc.

Asset_Sale

The Playhut sale[1] is emblematic of the financial crisis faced by companies caught up in the “retailpocalypse.” The events that unfolded throughout the Playhut sale reveal the extraordinary measures some professionals are taking to preserve stakeholder value under dire circumstances.

Pension Fund Withdrawal Liability: No Problem for § 363 Sale

Section 363 allows a debtor to sell its assets free and clear of interests in such property. If a creditor has a significant claim on a debtor’s assets, a § 363 sale may allow a debtor to sell its assets at a higher price than it could outside of bankruptcy. When debtors attempted a § 363 sale of their assets in In re K & D Industrial Services, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Michigan addressed whether they could make the sale free and clear of a pension fund’s claim.

2017 Winter Leadership Conference - The Role Of Financial Advisors And Investment Bankers In Bankruptcy Sales

Hosted by the Asset Sales and Financial Advisors and Investment Banking Committees. FAs, IBs, RE advisors, attorneys: too many cooks in the kitchen? This panel will discuss the anatomy of the bankruptcy sales process and focus on optimizing value by drawing on the resource skills of attorneys, investment banks, financial advisors and real estate advisors.

Committee Webinar - Key Issues Regarding Bidding Procedures

This webinar will provide an overview of key provisions in, and frequent disputes regarding, bidding procedure orders and bidding procedures. The webinar will cover both a basic introduction to the topic, as well as a discussion on advanced hot issues and recent trends in this area of law.

Committee Webinar - Creditor Committees and Individual Creditors in Asset Sales

The Asset Sales Committee will host a webinar on the roles of secured, undersecured and unsecured creditors and committees in asset sales and bidding processes involving complex capital structures. The discussion will focus on the challenges and complications that can arise in seeking an expedited sale free and clear of claims and liens and means by which creditors and committees can use the sale process to their advantage.

Stalking-Horse Bid Protections: Getting the “Credit” You Deserve at the § 363 Auction

Investors and those representing them go to great lengths to maximize the value of their deals in § 363 asset purchases. But if they’re not careful, they could easily find themselves in the following auction scenario, where a little ambiguity jeopardizes significant value that a “stalking horse” bidder thought it had already negotiated.

The Scenario

Section 363 vs. Out-of-Court Sales

Over the past several years, financially distressed companies have increasingly used bankruptcy as the preferred method to sell significant assets or entire businesses. Section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code allows a chapter 11 debtor to sell assets outside the ordinary course of the debtor’s business, clear of existing liens and claims, if the debtor demonstrates a good business reason for the sale. Depending on the facts and circumstances, however, a sale of distressed assets via an out-of-court transaction may be the best path forward.