Metro Fuel Oil receives court approval for $27 million sale of assets

By Caroline Salls

Pittsburgh, Feb. 19 - Metro Fuel Oil Corp. received court approval of the $27 million sale of its operating assets to United Refining Energy Corp., according to a Friday filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of New York.

United Refining has also agreed to assume cure costs related to contracts and leases and hire at least 75% of Metro Fuel's employees.

As previously reported, back-up bidders for some of the assets include:

• Castle Oil Corp., with a bid of $20 million in cash for the company's terminal assets, plus a commitment to hire at least six of Metro Fuel's employees;

• United Refining, with a bid of $2.9 million in cash for the company's Calverton facility;

• Affiliates of Hackman Capital, with bids of $1.1 million in cash for some personal property related to the company's biodiesel facility and $500,000 in cash for specified vehicle assets; and

• New York Commercial Bank, with a credit bid of $750,000 for Kings Land Realty, Inc. real estate assets.

Metro Fuel said it did not select a successful bidder for its accounts receivable and would continue to market those assets or collect them in the ordinary course of business.

In addition, the company did not designate a back-up bidder for the Metro Fuel business, which is included in the assets proposed to be sold to United Refining.

Metro Fuel is a Brooklyn, N.Y.-based energy company that supplies bioheat, biodiesel, heating oil, central air conditioning units, ultra low sulfur diesel fuel, natural gas and gasoline throughout the New York City metropolitan area and Long Island. The company filed for bankruptcy on Sept. 27 under Chapter 11 case number 12-46913.

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