Wed, Jan 14, 2009
Interested Parties Walked Away, Source Says
Well, so much for that. Eclipse Aviation will not go up for
public auction Wednesday, after the company failed to attract a
single qualified bidder for the troubled planemaker's assets.
Citing statements from Dan Guyder, a partner with Eclipse's law
firm, the Associated Press reports the Tuesday deadline for bids to
be submitted and approved passed with little apparent fanfare.
Eclipse consulted with two commitees made up of both secured and
unsecured creditors to determine there were no qualified bids for
the company.
A close source to the talks tells ANN no fewer
than four entities considered bidding on the Eclipse assets,
including at least one established business aircraft
manufacturer... but in the end, each of those
parties opted to walk away from the situation.
That clears the way for Luxembourg-based ETIRC Aviation, the
largest shareholder in Eclipse, to continue its plan to buy the
company through an affiliate. The AP states EclipseJet Aviation
International intends to pay $28 million in cash for the
company.
Part of that plan includes the issuance of $160 million in new
notes, and offering 15 percent equity in the new company to current
secured note holders.
As ANN reported, Eclipse filed for Chapter 11
protection November 25 in US Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. That
announcement followed months of turmoil for the inaugural
very-light jet manufacturer, including the ousting of company
founder Vern Raburn as CEO, employee layoffs and a well-publicized,
pre-Thanksgiving delay in paying those employees that still
remained.
For the moment, Eclipse's production facilities in Albuquerque,
NM remain in operation, propped up by post-petition,
debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing.
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