P&S Global Holdings to purchase NanoMech for $13 million
by July 19, 2019 11:04 am 1,291 views
A subsidiary of Houston-based petrochemical company Vinmar International is expected to purchase the assets of Springdale-based nanotechnology manufacturer NanoMech for $13.09 million.
The subsidiary, P&S Global Holdings LLC, was approved as the successful bidder and an auction was canceled after no qualified bids were submitted before the July 17 bid deadline, court documents show. The approval and cancellation of the auction were filed July 18 as part of NanoMech’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy case. NanoMech filed April 15 for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which allows a company to reorganize its debt.
A sale hearing in the case has been set for Tuesday (July 23) in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.
On July 17, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge John Dorsey approved P&S Global Holdings as the stalking horse bidder, which is the successful bidder when there are no other qualified bidders. No other bids were received.
Previously, Michaelson Capital Partners was the stalking horse bidder and had agreed to purchase the company’s assets for $9 million. Michaelson had sued NanoMech for not making payments on nearly $7 million in loans. In the case filed Feb. 4 in the Supreme Court of New York, Justice Andrew Borrok approved a judgment to require NanoMech to pay $8.91 million at an annual rate of 9%.
In a July 17 hearing in the Delaware bankruptcy court, Michael Busenkell, attorney for NanoMech, explained the difference between the company’s originally noted debt of $10.1 million and the purchase amount of $13.09 million includes interest, fees and an $850,000 loan between NanoMech and Michaelson Capital Partners that was made after the bankruptcy filing.
Also in the hearing, Jonathan Helfat, attorney for Michaelson Capital Partners, commended the deal between NanoMech and P&S Global Holdings.
“We are very happy that this has worked out so that there’s going to be a surviving entity that will employ the people at NanoMech and that this did not turn into a liquidation,” Helfat said. “That’s due in great part of the actions of the chief executive officer who not only stabilized the company so far since the filing but has helped and was instrumental in finding the buyer.”
Helfat also noted that P&S Global Holdings will assign back to Michaelson Capital Partners all the company’s liens and collateral.
When Dorsey asked about the Springdale property for NanoMech, Busenkell said the property isn’t part of the deal to acquire NanoMech, but the plan is to establish a short-term lease with P&S Global Holdings in order to negotiate with the property creditor, which is Arvest Bank.
Shane Johnson, attorney for Vinmar International, said it has no previous relationship with NanoMech and plans to roll its assets into Vinmar’s operations. He also said that the company will set aside $300,000 for NanoMech’s U.S. trustee and attorneys’ fees.