 GREEN BAY, Wisconsin (From news reports) -- A $176 million reorganization plan for Green Box NA Green Bay has been delayed by an inability to raise the cash needed to pay creditors.
GlenArbor LLC, a Chicago-based investor in Green Box, originally told U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin Judge Beth Hanan the reorganization plan would be funded and able to pay $14 million to creditors by March 31. In a June 1 motion, the company asked the court to push the date back to Sept. 30.
The reorganization would roll up De Pere businessman Ron Van Den Heuvel's web of companies into a new company that would secure the equipment, technology and money needed to operate a system that would recycle waste that typically ends up in landfills into reusable products.
"Principals of the debtor, despite using their best efforts, were unable to raise the funds contemplated which were, in effect, the financing necessary to bridge the gap between confirmation of the plan and the roll up contemplated under the plan," the motion reads.
GlenArbor plans to provide updated engineering reports, business plans and appraisals to reassure potential investors that the business is sound. It said even creditors understand failure to secure investors would mean no one gets paid.
"If the roll up does not come to fruition, it is unlikely that the various claims will be paid to any extent, if at all," the motion states. "The investment bank's study of the business plan and operations will provide a basis for potential investors to reasonably assess whether to invest in the project."
GlenArbor has spearheaded the reorganization effort since Van Den Heuvel sought protection from creditors in April 2016. Van Den Heuvel would retain an ownership stake in the revived venture, but he would not be involved in the company's management.
When Green Box filed for bankruptcy, Van Den Heuvel listed less than $50,000 in assets and more than $10 million in debt. The company had been the subject of a string of lawsuits from unpaid creditors, including the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp.
The bulk of the $176 million sought to fund the new company would build a new sorting facility, expand existing operations, connect various parts of the operation, pay off creditors and ramp up operations.
If financing can be secured, the new company has agreed to pay:
$605,000 in delinquent property, payroll and unemployment taxes Green Box owed to county, state and federal agencies.
$13.1 million to secured claimants owed a total of $24.3 million, and
$270,000 in legal fees and other administrative expenses.
****
Jim Thompson is back again...with a new book on a taboo subject: the personalities in the pulp & paper industry. Jim has written in the past on many subjects based on his four plus decades in the worldwide pulp and paper industry. This new book is packed full of information valuable to the senior member of the industry as well as the recent entrant. A must for every pulp and paper library. |
