Appellate court rules on valuation of inventory in Sears bankruptcy
Sears (the Amazon of its day) recently emerged from bankruptcy after four years and thousands of court filings.
ESL Invs., L.P. v. Sears Holdings Corp. Debtor-Appellee (In re Sears Holdings Corp.)
Second-lien holders, entitled to payment only after the debts of first-lien holders have been discharged, argued that the value of the collateral that secured their claims, as measured on the petition date, vastly exceeded what they had been paid and that they were accordingly entitled to priority payment of the difference. At trial, all parties put on evidence as to the value of the assets at the petition date. The differences varied widely. “The differences among these values turned primarily on how the experts calculated the revenue Debtors could expect to earn from selling their inventory.” The appeal dealt primarily with this inventory issue and how it should be valued.
Valuation of Inventory Key to Decision on Collateral Value in Bankruptcy
Second-lien holders, entitled to payment only after the debts of first-lien holders have been discharged, argued that the value of the collateral that secured their claims, as measured on the petition date, vastly exceeded what they had been paid and that they were accordingly entitled to priority payment of the difference. At trial, all parties put on evidence as to the value of the assets at the petition date. The differences varied widely. “The differences among these values turned primarily on how the experts calculated the revenue Debtors could expect to earn from selling their inventory.” The appeal dealt primarily with this inventory issue and how it should be valued.
In Re S-Tek 1, LLC
The debtor, S-Tek 1 LLC, submitted a motion to value to the Bankruptcy Court to determine the value of the collateral of Surv-Tek Inc. as to debt owed it by the debtor pledged as collateral for debt owed by S-Tek to Surv-Tek. The valuation was to be used in the confirmation of a Chapter 11 reorganization of S-Tek. The court used the replacement value standard of value instead of the “ongoing concern” value since the replacement value provided a value greater than the “enterprise value” (i.e., ongoing concern value).
Bankruptcy Court Uses the ‘Replacement Value Standard’ as It Determines That Debtor ‘Enterprise Value’ Is Lower and Inappropriate
The debtor, S-Tek 1 LLC, submitted a motion to value to the Bankruptcy Court to determine the value of the collateral of Surv-Tek Inc. as to debt owed it by the debtor pledged as collateral for debt owed by S-Tek to Surv-Tek. The valuation was to be used in the confirmation of a Chapter 11 reorganization of S-Tek. The court used the replacement value standard of value instead of the “ongoing concern” value since the replacement value provided a value greater than the “enterprise value” (i.e., ongoing concern value).
Valuation of Small Promissory Notes
Privately held promissory notes (typically $0 to $10 million) need to be valued for gift/estate, tax, and related party transactions. However, bonds from publicly traded companies are not comparable because publicly traded companies are large, diversified, and represent much less risk. Note buyers typically discount the outstanding balance of privately held notes to yield a return of 12% to 20% depending on the collateral and other risk factors. Since corporate bonds yield around 4% to ...
In Allocation Dispute Related to § 363 Sale, Bankruptcy Court Bridges Experts’ Value Gaps
Bankruptcy court performs allocation analysis to divide proceeds from section 363 asset sale between two competing lenders, finding debtor’s intellectual property is most valuable asset; court notes that, at time of sale, debtor was neither healthy going concern nor subject of forced liquidation.
In re Aerogroup International, Inc.
Bankruptcy court performs allocation analysis to divide proceeds from section 363 asset sale between two competing lenders, finding debtor’s intellectual property is most valuable asset; court notes that, at time of sale, debtor was neither healthy going concern nor subject of forced liquidation.
Creditors’ Valuation Spoils Diminution in Value Claim
Ruling on the adequate protection claim of junior secured noteholders (JSNs) in a complex bankruptcy proceeding, court finds JSNs failed to prove a diminution in the value of their cash collateral during case; flawed assumptions and inputs invalidate the ...
In re Residential Capital, LLC
Ruling on the adequate protection claim of junior secured noteholders (JSNs) in a complex bankruptcy proceeding, court finds JSNs failed to prove a diminution in the value of their cash collateral during case; flawed assumptions and inputs invalidate the ...