Friday, January 14, 2022, 5:13 pm News Flash Archive

This afternoon, Express Grain asked the court for permission to sell 15 golf carts and one electric flatbed truck. So far, no reason has been given why EG purchased 15 golf carts in the first place.

The golf carts will be sold for $75,000 to Dodd Turner of Turner Auto Group in Greenwood. The flatbed truck, with an asking price of at least $6,700, does not yet have a buyer.

According to the motion, the golf carts and truck have never been used.

But then later this afternoon, EG petitioned the court to establish a procedure for selling off all the assets of EG, with bidding and a final auction to determine the purchasers and prices.

EG employees were told 4 days ago that they may very soon be laid off permanently due to lack of ability for EG to borrow working capital. See our reporting here: Express Grain employees told today they may be laid off, and the company shut down

All the money from the sale of the golf carts, as well as of the entire company's assets, will be deposited in the bank awaiting further order from the court. Presumably, the court would then proceed to divvy up the money between secured and non-secured creditors in order to close the bankruptcy case.

The motion to sell the golf carts may be seen here: EG Motion to sell golf carts and truck

The purchase invoice and specs for the golf carts may be seen here: Purchase invoice and specs for golf carts

The motion by EG for the court to adopt a procedure for the sale of EG's assets may be seen here: EG Motion to establish procedure for sale of assets

According to EG:

The CRO has determined that it is in the best interests of the Debtor, its estate, and all creditors and parties-in-interest to seek a buyer or buyers for substantially all of the Debtor's assets in this case and in the administratively consolidated cases.

The Debtor does not have the internal capital structure within which to submit a meaningful "internal" plan of reorganization. Further, it does not, in the opinion of the CRO, have sufficient means with which to borrow additional capital, either to replace the existing secured debt or to obtain additional working capital, that would make an internal plan of reorganization feasible, at least at this stage of the Chapter 11 case.

Accordingly, the CRO has determined that it is in the best interests of all parties to seek a buyer or buyers for substantially all of the Debtor's assets.

Although the CRO Dennis Gerrard has been marketing EG's assets, so far no definite offers have been received from possible purchasers. EG notes that it is nearing the end of its supply of beans to process by crushing, and therefore the time to sell all the assets has come:

... as the Debtor nears the end of the inventory of soybeans that it has been crushing since the case began, it is time to secure an order from the Court approving these requested bid procedures, and to then pursue a sale/auction soon thereafter.

EG outlines the proposed asset sale process: bids will be received from "qualified bidders" who have been vetted to make sure they are legitimate and can actually carry through with the purchase. "Due diligence" will be performed by both EG and the bidder, and a purchase agreement will be agreed upon. After the bid deadline has passed, all the qualified bidders will participate in an auction to determine the final purchaser(s) of the assets. The winning bidder(s) will then purchase the assets subject to the final approval of the court.

EG's proposed sale process includes keeping all the parties and their attorneys "in the loop" with updates and the ability for them to provide feedback about the bidding process.

EG has asked for an expedited hearing to approve the asset sale procedure.

John Pittman Hey
The Taxpayers Channel

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