Briggs & Stratton noteholders urge court to slow down sale process

By Caroline Salls

Pittsburgh, Aug. 6 – An informal group of Briggs & Stratton Corp.’s senior noteholders filed a preliminary objection Wednesday to the bid procedures for the proposed sale of the company’s assets, according to a filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.

The noteholders said an official committee of unsecured creditors has not yet been officially appointed in Briggs & Stratton’s Chapter 11 cases, and, given the large amount of unsecured claims present, the committee will play a meaningful role in these cases as an independent estate fiduciary protecting the interests of all unsecured creditors.

As a result, the noteholders said the committee should be given a reasonable opportunity to analyze the bid procedures and advise the court of its views before the motion is considered by the court.

Through its bid procedures and debtor-in-possession financing motions, the noteholders said Briggs & Stratton is seeking the court’s blessing of a fast-tracked sale of substantially all of its assets to KPS Capital Partners, LP for $550 million, which the noteholder said is just enough to repay the company’s secured debt “and little more.”

“All told, the debtors seek to approve a sale of substantially all of their assets within seven-and-a-half weeks of filing for bankruptcy,” the objection said.

“Under any circumstances, this would be an aggressive timeline. Here, though, there are several aspects of the debtors’ case strategy that require careful scrutiny and, therefore, additional time.”

Briggs & Stratton is based in Milwaukee and makes gasoline engines for outdoor power equipment. The company filed bankruptcy on July 20 under Chapter 11 case number 20-43597.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.