The iGPS auction has been approved by a U.S. Bankruptcy judge, according to a an article at law360.com.
Last month we reported that plastic pallet rental company iGPS had filed for bankruptcy and was planning to sell to a joint venture group. With cash running low, the company was looking to auction the company on July 2. That plan ran into a snag from a Delaware bankruptcy official, who criticized the amount being paid, as well as the rushed timing of the sale.
Trustee Roberta A. DeAngelis of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware said she believed the Debtor’s assets may have substantially greater value than indicated and that the timing of the sale was overly aggressive. ” She noted that while iGPS secured an offer worth $49 million plus assumed liabilities from the purchasing group, the Chapter 11 filing earlier in June estimated its assets as ranging between between $100 million and $500 million in value. She also stated that the rapid timing of the sale did “not appear at all designed to induce or attract alternative bids.”
On July 1, however U.S. Bankruptcy Jude Kevin Gross did give approval for iGPS Co. LLC to auction itself off, with a new date of July 16. He warned that his final approval of the actual sale would not be won unless the floor price set by a joint venture that includes two private equity firms goes up “considerably.”
“I’m obviously putting the parties on notice that I am expecting a very good auction,” Judge Gross said in court. “For today, I’m not going to stand in the way of seeing what the market will do, but the market must be very active for me to approve the sale.” The new bid deadline is now set for July 15, with an auction scheduled for July 16, followed by a sale hearing slated for July 19.
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