Kitchens Brothers Manufacturing Company – Three hardwood sawmills in Mississippi and Louisiana had been shut down for almost a year due to a downturn in the housing market and falling lumber prices. Despite efforts to downsize and wait for the market to turn, operations never recovered, and liquidation was scheduled. SC&H Capital was given ten weeks to market and sell the assets, which had deteriorated significantly due to inactivity and exposure to the elements.
After an exhaustive marketing process, multiple going concern bids were received for one of the mills. SC&H conducted an auction among the bidders and after 24 rounds, the sawmill was sold to a NewCo comprised of some of the original owners. Our process provided the validation the bankruptcy court needed to approve the sale to an insider, and operations restarted. The two remaining sawmills were liquidated via piecemeal auction, and the combined results exceeded the secured creditor’s estimated recovery.
