🐄New Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Filing - Borden Dairy Company🐄

Borden Dairy Company

January 5, 2020

Dallas-based Borden Dairy Company and 17 affiliated companies joined fellow dairy manufacturer, Dean Foods Company (which we’ve written about here, here, here and, lastly, here upon its chapter 11 filing) in bankruptcy court this week. Why? “Like other milk producers and distributors, Borden is facing a multi-year trend of shrinking margins and increasing competition. These negative trends have been exacerbated by declining margin over milk at retail even as the price of raw Class 1 milk has been increasing.” Boo Moo.

What a storied history. Founded by Gail Borden in 1856 (PETITION Note: read the link if you want to feel awful about yourself and what you’ve accomplished in your life), the New York Condensed Milk Company started the first successful condensed milk processing plant in 1861. In the latter part of the 19th century, the company added processed and evaporated milk to its offerings and pioneered the use of glass milk bottles.

In 1919, the company changed its name to Borden Company in honor of Mr. Borden. This was a period of great uncertainty — one captured in Hemingway’s “The Sun Also Rises” — but that didn’t stop Mr. Borden’s descendants from expanding their dairy-fueled reign. They acquired two of the largest ice cream manufacturers in the US, while also adding cheese and acquiring a chemicals company. Over those years, Borden acquired over 200 companies. “Elsie the Cow” was born in 1936 and became a well known mascot.

By the 80s, Borden was the world’s largest dairy operator with sales exceeding $7.2b. Then gravity prevailed. By the early 90s, the company experienced financial distress borne out of two much expansion over the years and sold to KKR for $2b. KKR then dismantled Borden by selling off divisions and brands to various buyers.

The debtors underwent a comprehensive restructuring in 2017. At the time of the restructuring, the debtors took on a $275mm credit facility held, in tranches, by PNC Bank and KKR. The effective interest rate on the term loan facilities was 9.3% as of 12/31/19, which is on top of the 4.95% interest due under the revolving portion of the loan. So, yeah, debt and the debtors’ interest expense nut is a big part of this bankruptcy filing.

The company is no longer the behemoth it once was. Nevertheless, it employees over 3000 people and makes tens of thousands of service calls to its customers (e.g., Walmart Inc. & Sam’s Club ($WMT)), Kroger Inc. ($KR), 7-Eleven, CVS HealthCorp. ($CVS), Starbucks Inc. ($SBUX), etc.).

But its number suck. In 2018, the company had a total net income loss of $14.6mm on ~$1.2b of sales. In 2019, the loss widened to $42.4mm. Liquidity, therefore, is a big issue — and it’s compounded by (a) interest expense and amort payments on the term loan and (b) employee obligations under mandatory retirement plans and settlements related to pension funds. More on this below.

The macro reasons for the debtors’ problems sound like a Dean Foods’ encore:

  • The milk industry is highly competitive ✅;

  • Non-dairy products and beverages are stealing share (DISRUPTION!!) ✅;

  • Discount grocers have “intensified competition and reduced the margin over milk at retail” ✅; and

  • Walmart and other retailers who use milk as a loss leader are napalming margins ✅;

  • Commodity and freight costs are up ✅.

The company doesn’t tip its hand as to what it hopes to achieve in bankruptcy other than a “breathing spell” to get its sh*t in order. The Wall Street Journal noted:

Borden Chief Executive Tony Sarsam told The Wall Street Journal that he believes Acon, which took a major stake in the company in 2017, will be the primary owner of the business after the bankruptcy. He declined to say how much debt Borden would erase as part of its bankruptcy restructuring.

Acon is currently one of the debtors’ majority owners.

*****

There’s one thing that the Wall Street Journal doesn’t pick up on though. The debtors’ pensioners are about to get the royal screw.

The debtors note that, pre-filing, they made periodic payments pursuant to two settlement agreements they entered into in connection with their withdrawal from its (a) Central States, Southeast and Southwest Areas Pension Fund terminated in ‘14 (“Central States”) and (b) Retail, Wholesale and Department Store International Union pension fund terminated in ‘16 (“RWDSU”). In connection with the ‘17 restructuring, the debtors established a special purpose account funded with $30mm to fund these settlement payments — $185,225/month to Central States and $6,000/month to RWDSU. The account now has $26.6mm in it.

The debtors are laying claim to this money; they note that it is unencumbered by their lenders nor the pensioners.

This hasn’t been a great time for pensioners. With coal bankruptcies galore, Jack Cooper, and now the dairy producers, anxiety levels must be through the roof.

  • Jurisdiction: D. of Delaware (Judge Sontchi)

  • Capital Structure: $275mm of funded debt (see above). $30mm Term Loan A (PNC), $175mm Term Loan B (KKR Credit Advisors US LLC), $70mm RCF (PNC)

  • Professionals:

    • Legal: Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer (D. Tyler Nurnberg, Seth Kleinman, Sarah Gryll, Jeffrey Fuisz) & Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor LLP (M. Blake Cleary, Kenneth Enos, Elizabeth Justison, Betsy Feldman)

    • Independent Directors: Harold Strunk, Andrea Fischer Newman

    • Claims Agent: Donlin Recano (*click on the link above for free docket access)

  • Other Parties in Interest:

    • ACON Dairy Investors LLC

    • New Laguna LLC

    • Agent, RCF Facility Lenders & Term Loan A Facility Lenders: PNC Bank NA

      • Legal: Blank Rome LLP (Regina Stango Kelbon, Josef Mintz, John Lucian, Gregory Vizza)

    • Term Loan B Facility Lenders: KKR Credit Advisors US LLC/Franklin Square Holdings LP

      • Legal: King & Spalding LLP (Roger Schwartz, Peter Montoni, Christopher Boies, Stephen Blank) & Morris Nichols Arsht & Tunnell LLP (Robert Dehney, Curtis Miller, Matthew Harvey, Matthew Talmo)

    • Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors

      • Legal: Sidley Austin LLP (Matthew Clemente, Genevieve Weiner, Michael Fishel, Michael Burke) & Morris James LLP (Carl Kunz III, Eric Monzo, Brya Keilson)

New Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Filing - High Ridge Brands Co.

High Ridge Brands Co.

December 18, 2019

Connecticut-based, private-equity-owned (Clayton Dubilier & Rice LLC) High Ridge Brands Co. (“HRB”) filed for bankruptcy in the District of Delaware. High Ridge what? Right, we wouldn’t expect you to know what HRB is but you may very well know several of the brands in its portfolio. Ever visit Nana’s house for the weekend, hop into the shower, and see a boatload of VO5 or White Rain shampoo on the shelf? Zest soap? Or have you ever seen some shadeball do this on the street?

Binaca.gif

Oh yeah. Nothing says class like Binaca! Anyway, all four of the aforementioned products are in HRB’s brand portfolio. That portfolio also includes the Coast, Firefly, LA Looks, Rave, Reach, Salon Grafix, SGX NYC, Thicker Fuller Hair, and the Zero Frizz brands; the most recent portfolio addition was, in late 2016, Dr. Fresh, which sounds like a Marvel superhero but is an oral-care brand focused on value toothbrushes and the like. This acquisition marked an expansion away from HRB’s historical focus on primarily skin cleaning and hair care products in the “value” segment. HRB describes their business model as follows:

“Given their focus on value price points, the goal of the Debtors’ early strategy was to minimize costs, which they did by concentrating supply and optimizing logistics to leverage unit volumes to create a low cost structure with fully outsourced manufacturing and logistics primarily in the United States. Said differently, the Debtors’ original business plan revolved around low-cost, low-margin, and high-volume product distribution.”

Interestingly, the gangbusters economy has not been so gangbusters for HRB and, by extension here, CD&R’s equity. HRB, therefore, has recently pivoted:

Given that the Company’s hair care and skin cleansing brand portfolio was concentrated in product segments (e.g., bar soap and hair spray) and price points (e.g., opening price points and value) that were shrinking due to shifting consumer preferences and a strong economy that led to a reduction in shelf space allotted to value priced products, the Debtors have focused recently on transformative innovation to drive topline growth in growing segments (e.g., natural products, texturizers, and body wash) at slightly higher price points. The company has also invested in capability and capacity across the organization to elevate the speed it can bring products to market, its customer service, and its performance management. These tactics, in conjunction with their recent acquisitions, have positioned the Debtors well for sustainable, profitable growth.

Now, if that last bit about razzle dazzle change and high prospects seems like a sales pitch to you, well, give yourself a pat on the back because that is precisely the point of this chapter 11 filing. And the first day filing papers reflect this: the First Day Declaration is replete with chest-pounding talk about how great HRB’s asset-light model is, how large the total addressable market is for their products, how diversified and recognizable their brands are, and how deep their customer relationships are. With respect to the latter, HRB touts its key customers: “Walmart, Dollar Tree, Dollar General, Walgreens, Kroger, Family Dollar, 99 Cents Only Stores, CVS, HEB, Wakefern and other blue chip retailers.” UM, WOULD THESE BE THE VERY SAME CUSTOMERS WHO ARE TAKING AWAY HRB’S SHELF SPACE? 🤔😜

Someone will have to buy into all of ⬆️ and disregard HRB’s actual recent performance — performance that has sucked sh*t to the tune of $301.1mm in net sales and a $62.5mm net loss (and $35.5mm of adjusted EBITDA…adjusted for what we wonder?). We would love to see the data room: given increased emphasis on higher quality product at affordable prices, among other factors, we bet the numbers are showing disturbing quarterly declines but that’s just a guess.

HRB highlights the following as events that led to its chapter cases:

  • Increased competition in the personal care industry and a shift away from its value brands;

  • An inability to account for increasing commodity costs when marketing to value customers;

  • A late shift to higher-margin products;

  • An education challenge in that HRB will now need to educate the consumer about its newer, higher-margin brands — something that has and will elevate marketing costs; and

  • A soap supplier (a) jamming HRB with higher costs and HRB not having replacements at the ready and (b) failing to deliver the supply HRB needed.

Of course, there’s also the capital structure. HRB has over $500mm of debt split between a $50mm revolving credit facility, a $213.4mm term loan, and $261mm of '25 8.875% senior unsecured notes (as well as $28.7mm of trade debt).

Tellingly, HRB wasn’t able to get its lenders on board with a restructuring transaction. Per HRB:

…the Debtors explored (1) a consensual restructuring among the Debtors, the Prepetition First Lien Lenders, and the Noteholders; (2) a plan of reorganization sponsored by the Prepetition First Lien Lenders; (3) a toggle plan with a focus on a sale of the Debtors’ assets with a reorganization backstop; (4) a chapter 11 sale process with the Prepetition First Lien Lenders acting as a stalking horse bidder; and (5) a chapter 11 sale process funded by a debtor-in-possession facility provided by the Prepetition First Lien Lenders or some subset thereof.

The Debtors’ initial goal was to effectuate a consensual restructuring out of court, and the Debtors engaged with both the Prepetition First Lien Lenders and the Ad Hoc Group to explore this possibility prior to commencing the Sale Process … in September of this year. As part of this, the Debtors provided the Ad Hoc Group with a significant amount of due diligence and held a number of meetings with the Ad Hoc Group’s professionals. Although the initial discussions did result in the Ad Hoc Group providing the Debtors with an initial set of potential terms for a restructuring, negotiations ultimately dwindled such that the Debtors decided they needed to pivot to other restructuring alternatives.

Now, it’s hard to say, from the outside looking in, what this all means. Getting this kind of deal done out-of-court was — depending on how concentrated the debt holdings are — probably unrealistic. It sounds like the lenders lacked not only the numbers to get something done but the conviction. There’s no restructuring support agreement here. There’s not even a stalking horse bidder. So, none of that is great.

On the plus side … maybe?… an earlier DIP commitment for $70mm has been decreased to $40mm ($20mm of which is a roll-up of prepetition amounts). HRB claims that this a reflection of the “liquidity position and forecasted liquidity needs over the course of the…cases” which would suggest that liquidity has improved since first discussing DIP financing back in August. Alternatively, it could mean that the DIP lenders are skittish given what appears to be a significant gap in the perception of value. The DIP matures in four months — presumably enough time to allow a sale process to play out through the beginning of February. Now the pressure is on PJT Partners Inc. ($PJT) to deliver a potential buyer.

*****

One final thing to note here: the petition lists HRB’s top 50 creditors and, of that 50, only a handful are trade creditors. Typically you’d see the indenture trustee listed as the top creditor, subsuming the entirety of the outstanding debt issuance outstanding. Here, HRB individually listed each of the noteholders. This could mean that the company has, for the most part, kept its trade current, relegating a very small subset to unpaid status. Indeed, those few creditors listed are owed more than 50% of the outstanding trade debt.

Furthermore, the company filed a critical vendor motion seeking to pay $26.5mm in critical vendor, shipper, 503b9 and foreign vendor claims. That conveniently wouldn’t leave much of an unsecured creditor body outside of the notes.

  • Jurisdiction: D. of Delaware (Judge Shannon)

  • Capital Structure: $50mm RCF & $213.4mm TL (BMO Harris Bank NA), $261mm '25 8.875% senior unsecured notes (Wilmington Trust)

  • Professionals:

    • Legal: Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor LLP (Robert Brady, Edmon Morton, Ian Bambrick, Allison Mielke, Jared Kochenash) & Debevoise & Plimpton LLLP (M. Natasha Labovitz, Nick Kaluk III)

    • Financial Advisor/CRO: Ankura Consulting Group LLC (Benjamin Jones)

    • Investment Banker: PJT Partners LP (John Singh)

    • Claims Agent: Prime Clerk LLC (*click on the link above for free docket access)

  • Other Parties in Interest:

    • Equity Sponsor: Clayton Dubilier & Rice LLC

    • DIP Administrative Agent & Agent under the Prepetition First Lien Credit Agreement: BMO Harris Bank NA

      • Legal: Winston & Strawn LLP (Daniel McGuire, Gregory Gartland, Dov Goodman) & Womble Bond Dickinson US LLP (Matthew Ward, Morgan Patterson)

    • Indenture Trustee for the 8.875% ‘25 Senior Notes: Wilmington Trust NA

      • Legal: Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP (Todd Meyers, Gianfranco Finizio) & Morris James LLP (Eric Monzo, Brya Keilson)

    • Ad Hoc Group of 8.875% ‘25 Senior Noteholders

🐻New Chapter 11 Bankruptcy - Sugarfina Inc.🐻

Sugarfina Inc.

September 6, 2019

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First it was Lolli & Pops and now its Sugarfina Inc. Damn people! Don’t you eat sugar anymore?? What is Sugarfina?

Sugarfina is an iconic candy and confectionary brand with a uniquely fresh, fashionable, and experiential approach to gourmet confections. With the creation of a “candy store for grown ups,” Sugarfina has gained a strong and loyal customer following, through constant creation and innovation focused on distinctive product presentation and invention of fresh new candy offerings that delight and surprise. (emphasis added)

There it is again. The words “iconic” and “loyal customer following” to describe a never-profitable now-bankrupt company that bled cash like a baaaaawse over seven years. Seriously, let’s cut that hyperbolic sh*t out already: Sugarfina raised $60mm from investors — including the likes of Howard MarksRoger McNameeDavid Solomon ($GS) & Bono ($U2) — but ran out of cash by the end of ‘18. That’s enough to give us vertigo.

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Those investors will never find what they were looking for: ROI.

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Clearly this investment was not the “one” (we can keep going folks).

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to address this cash need, the company sought interest in a new debt and/or equity transaction from third-parties. But NOBODY WAS INTERESTED IN THIS ICONIC BRAND WITH THE LOYAL FOLLOWING. NO. ONE. The company was forced to take on $22.4mm in secured debt to raise short-term liquidity. Initiate death spiral.*

The company then hired a banker to raise new liquidity:

The Company’s process was open-ended, expressing a willingness to consider any type of transaction, with any terms (including complete or partial acquisitions, equity investments, or long-term debt transactions).

IN OTHER WORDS, THIS ICONIC BRAND WITH THE LOYAL FOLLOWING WAS DESPERATE AF. Over SIX MONTHS they contacted 170 — ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY — potential counter-parties, signed 42 NDAs, and still NO ONE wanted to move forward with an out-of-court deal. Hence, the chapter 11 filing.

You know what DOESN’T scream “iconic”? A measly $13mm purchase price (on $47mm of net sales,** $23.6mm from B&M retail). That’s right $13mm for 44 “Candy Boutiques” (inclusive of 11 shop in shops at Nordstrom’s), a wholesale business ($11.9mm sales), e-commerce ($5.6mm), international franchise ($1.8mm) and a corporate/custom channel ($4.1mm). You know what else doesn’t scream “iconic”? This:

In 2016, the Company incurred EBITDA losses of $4,828,574, which increased to EBTIDA losses of $7,340,000 in 2017, and to EBITDA losses of $17,913,000 in 2018.

SO. EFFING. ICONIC. The retail and international channels proved to be the main drag. The company already seeks approval to reject six leases so the buyer’s plan will clearly be less reliant on a physical footprint (at least in existing locations).

The company has 18.5k and 225k TWTR and Insta followers, respectively. It also has 140 design patents and trademarks in 22 international jurisdictions. Despite these “assets,” the purchase price doesn’t clear the secured debt. And the company “owe[s] material amounts, on an unsecured basis, to vendors critical to their production process, including candy and packaging suppliers.” (See “critical vendor” piece below).

The company — currently helmed by (i) a CRO who was formerly the GC (and before that, the GC of American Apparel Inc.) and (ii) two independent directors including the former CEO of both American Apparel Inc. and True ReligionChelsea Grayson (pictured above in full-fledged Director power pose) — does have a stalking horse purchaser lined up (Candy Cube a/k/a Terramar Capital — your late night luxury sugar cravings powered by private equity!).*** It also has a $4mm (8%) DIP commitment from Serene Capital (its first lien lender) and Candy Cube.

We suppose we’ll now see how much interest this ICONIC brand draws in auction.

*At the time of filing, the company had $24.5mm of secured debt split amongst a capital structure that would make an E&P company jealous. There’s a $5mm first lien (SFF Loan Advisors LLC d/b/a Serene Capital), $10mm second lien (Goldman Sachs Specialty Lending), $8mm third lien (founder Josh Resnick), and $2.15mm fourth lien. There’s also a $2.1mm unsecured convertible promissory note. What? No appetite for a fifth lien tranche?!

**Revenue doubled each year from ‘13 thru ‘16, and 1.25x from ‘13 thru ‘18 (read: growth, as you might expect when a company matures, slowed meaningfully in the later years). Notably, the purchase price also includes membership interests in the emerging company, Candy Cube, including senior preferred membership interests with a $2.0mm preference and 20% of the common membership interests.

***The buyer has agreed to pay retention bonuses to employees who stay through the sale.

  • Jurisdiction: D. of Delaware (Judge Walrath)

  • Professionals:

    • Legal: Shulman Hodges & Bastian LLP (Alan Friedman, Ryan O’Dea) & Morris James LLP (Brya Keilson, Eric Monzo)

    • Financial Advisor: Force Ten Partners LLC (Adam Meislik)

    • Claims Agent: BMC Group (*click on the link above for free docket access)

  • Other Parties in Interest:

    • Stalking Horse Purchaser: Terramar Capital (a/k/a Candy Cube Holdings LLC)

      • Legal: McDonald Hopkins (Marc Carmel) & Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor LLP (M. Blake Cleary, Andrew Magaziner)

    • First Lien Lender & DIP Lender: SFCC Loan Investors LLC

      • Legal: Loeb & Loeb LLP (Lance Jurich, Vadim Rubinstein, W. Peter Beardsley) & (local) Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones LLP (Jeffrey Pomerantz, James O’Neill)

    • Landlord Creditors: Federal Realty Investment Trust

      • Legal: Ballard Spahr LLP (Leslie Heilman)

    • Landlord Creditors: A/R Retail LLC, The Forbes Company LLC, The Macerich Company

      • Legal: Ballard Spahr LLP (Leslie Heilman, Brian Huben, Dustin Branch)

    • Landlord Creditor: Taubman Landlords

      • Legal: The Taubman Company (Andrew Conway) & Law Office of Susan Kaufman LLC (Susan Kaufman)

    • Landlord Creditor: Taubman Landlords: Simon Property Group

      • Legal: Simon Property Group (Ronald Tucker)

    • Landlord Creditor: Westfield LLC

      • Legal: Barclay Damon LLP (Niclas Ferland, Ilan Markus) & Law Office of Susan E. Kaufman (Susan Kaufman)

    • Landlord Creditor: Landmark Properties LLC

      • Legal: Greenberg Traurig: (Heath Kushnick, Dennis Meloro)

    • Landlord Creditor: Shopcore Properties LP and Turnberry Associates

      • Legal: Kelley Drye & Warren LLP (Robert LeHane, Jennifer Raviele, Michael Reining)

    • Landlord Creditor: CIBC Leaseco LLC

      • Legal: Mayer Brown LLP (Brian Trust, Joaquin M. C de Baca)

    • Goldman Speciality Lending Group

      • Legal: King & Spalding LLP (Austin Jowers, Michael Handler) & Chipman Brown Cicero & Cole LLP (William Chipman, Mark Olivere)

    • Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors

      • Legal: Bayard PA (Justin Alberto, Erin Fay, Daniel Brogan)

Updated 9/24/19 #130

🌑New Chapter 11 Filing - Cloud Peak Energy Inc.🌑

In what ought to come as a surprise to absolutely no one, Cloud Peak Energy Inc. ($CLD) and a slate of affiliates FINALLY filed for bankruptcy.

Let’s take a moment of silence for coal country, shall we? If this is what MAGA looks like, we’d hate to see what happens when a global downturn eventually hits. There’s gonna be blood in the water.

Sounds like hyperbole? Note that since 2016, there have been a slate of coal-related bankruptcies, i.e., Westmoreland Coal CompanyMission Coal Company LLC, and now Cloud Peak Energy Inc. Blackhawk Mining LLC appears to be waiting in the wings. We suppose it could be worse: we could be talking about oil and gas country (and we will be, we certainly will be…and SOON.).

Cloud Peak is an impressive company. Since its formation in 2008, it has become one of the largest (subbituminous thermal coal) coal producers in the US — supplying enough coal to satisfy approximately 2% of the US’ electricity demand. Its three surface mines are located in the Powder River Basin in Wyoming and Montana; it sold approximately 50mm tons of coal in 2018 to 46 domestic and foreign end users.*

In the scheme of things, Cloud Peak’s balance sheet isn’t overly complicated. We’re not talking about billions of dollars of debt here like we saw with Walter EnergyPeabody Energy, Arch Coal, Patriot Coal or Alpha Natural Resources. So, not all coal companies and coal company bankruptcies are created equal. Nevertheless, the company does have $290.4mm of ‘21 12% secured notes (Wilmington Trust NA) and $56.4mm of ‘24 6.375% unsecured notes (Wilmington Trust NA as successor trustee to Wells Fargo Bank NA) to contend with for a total of $346.8mm in funded debt liability. The company is also party to a securitization facility. And, finally, the company also has reclamation obligations related to their mines and therefore has $395mm in third-party surety bonds outstanding with various insurance companies, backed by $25.7mm in letters of credit. Coal mining is a messy business, homies.

So why bankruptcy? Why now? Per the company:

The Company’s chapter 11 filing, however, was precipitated by (i) general distress affecting the domestic U.S. thermal coal industry that produced a sustained low price environment that could not support profit margins to allow the Company to satisfy its funded debt obligations; (ii) export market price volatility that caused decreased demand from the Company’s customers in Asia; (iii) particularly challenging weather conditions in the second quarter of 2018 that caused spoil failure and significant delays in coal production through the remainder of 2018 and into 2019, which reduced cash inflows from coal sales and limited credit availability; and (iv) recent flooding in the Midwestern United States that has significantly disrupted rail service, further reducing coal sales.

To summarize, price compression caused by natural gas. Too much regulation (which, in turn, favors natural gas over coal). Too much debt. And, dare we say, global warming?!? Challenging weather and flooding must be really perplexing in coal country where global warming isn’t exactly embraced with open arms.

Now, we may be hopping to conclusions here but, these bits are telling — and are we say, mildly ironic in a tragic sort of way:

In addition to headwinds facing thermal coal producers and export market volatility, the Company’s mines suffered from unusually heavy rains affecting Wyoming and Montana in the second quarter of 2018. For perspective, the 10-year average combined rainfall for May, June, and July at the Company’s Antelope Mine is 6.79 inches. In 2018, it rained 10.2 inches during that period. While certain operational procedures put in place following heavy flooding in 2014 functioned effectively to mitigate equipment damage, the 2018 rains interrupted the Company’s mining operations considerably.

It gets worse.

The problem with rain is that the moisture therefrom causes “spoil.” Per the company:

Spoil is the term used for overburden and other waste rock removed during coal mining. The instability in the dragline pits caused wet spoil to slide into the pits that had to be removed by dragline and/or truck-shovel methods before the coal could be mined. This caused significant delays and diverted truck-shovel capacity from preliminary stripping work, which caused additional production delays at the Antelope Mine. The delays resulting from the spoil failure at the Antelope Mine caused the Company to have reduced shipments, increased costs, and delayed truck-shovel stripping in 2018. Consequently, the reduced cash inflows from coal sales limited the Company’s credit availability under the financial covenants in the Amended Credit Agreement prior to its termination, and limited access to any new forms of capital.

But, wait. There’s more:

Additionally, the severe weather affecting the Midwest region of the United States in mid-March 2019 caused, among other things, extensive flooding that damaged rail lines. One of Cloud Peak’s primary suppliers of rail transportation services – BNSF – was negatively impacted by the flooding and has been unable to provide sufficient rail transportation services to satisfy the Company’s targeted coal shipments. As of the Petition Date, BNSF’s trains have resumed operations, but are operating on a less frequent schedule because of repairs being made to rail lines damaged by the extensive flooding. As a result, the Company’s coal shipments have been materially impacted, with cash flows significantly reduced through mid-June 2019.

Riiiiiiiight. But:

More about Moore here: the tweet, as you might expect, doesn’t tell the full story.

Anywho.

The company has been burning a bit over $7mm of liquidity a month since September 2018. Accordingly, it sought strategic alternatives but was unable to find anything viable that would clear its cap stack. We gather there isn’t a whole lot of bullishness around coal mines these days.

To buy itself some time, therefore, the company engaged in a series of exchange transactions dating back to 2016. This enabled it to extinguish certain debt maturing in 2019. And thank G-d for the public markets: were it not for a February 2017 equity offering where some idiot public investors hopped in to effectively transfer their money straight into noteholder pockets, this thing probably would have filed for bankruptcy sooner. That equity offering — coupled with a preceding exchange offer — bought the company some runway to continue to explore strategic alternatives. The company engaged J.P. Morgan Securities LLC to find a partner but nothing was actionable. Ah….coal.

Thereafter, the company hired a slate of restructuring professionals to help prepare it for the inevitable. Centerview Partners took over for J.P. Morgan Securities LLC but, to date, has had no additional luck. The company filed for bankruptcy without any prospective buyers lined up.

Alas, the company filed for bankruptcy with a “sale and plan support agreement” or “SAPSA.” While this may sound like a venereal disease, what it really means is that the company has an agreement with a significant percentage of both its secured and unsecured noteholders to dual track a sale and plan process. If they can sell the debtors’ assets via a string of 363 sales, great. If they have to do a more fulsome transaction by way of a plan, sure, that also works. These consenting noteholders also settled some other disputes and support the proposed $35mm DIP financing

*Foreign customers purchased approximately 9% of ‘18 coal production.

  • Jurisdiction: D. of Delaware (Judge Gross)

  • Capital Structure: $290mm 12% ‘21 secured debt (Wilmington Trust NA), $56.4mm unsecured debt (BOKF NA)

  • Professionals:

    • Legal: Vinson & Elkins LLP (Paul Heath, David Meyer, Jessica Peet, Lauren Kanzer, Matthew Moran, Steven Zundell, Andrew Geppert, Matthew Pyeatt, Matthew Struble, Jeremy Reichman) & (local) Richards Layton & Finger PA (Daniel DeFranceschi, John Knight)

    • Financial Advisor: FTI Consulting Inc. (Alan Boyko)

    • Investment Banker: Centerview Partners (Marc Puntus, Ryan Kielty, Johannes Preis)

    • Claims Agent: Prime Clerk LLC (*click on the link above for free docket access)

  • Other Parties in Interest:

    • Major shareholders: Renaissance Technologies LLC, The Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Dimensional Fund Advisors LP, Kopernik Global Advisors, Blackrock Inc.

    • DIP Agent: Ankura Trust Company LLC

      • Legal: Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP (Damian Schaible, Aryeh Ethan Falk, Christopher Robertson) & (local) Morris Nichols Arsht & Tunnell LLP (Robert Dehney, Curtis Miller, Paige Topper)

      • Financial Advisor: Houlihan Lokey

    • Prepetition Secured Noteholder Group (Allianz Global Investors US LLC, Arena Capital Advisors LLC, Grace Brothers LP, Nomura Corporate Research and Asset Management Inc. Nuveen Alternatives Advisors LLC, Wexford Capital LP, Wolverine Asset Management LLC)

      • Legal: Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP (Damian Schaible, Aryeh Ethan Falk, Christopher Robertson) & (local) Morris Nichols Arsht & Tunnell LLP (Robert Dehney, Curtis Miller, Paige Topper)

    • Indenture Trustee: BOKF NA

      • Legal: Arent Fox LLP (Andrew Silfen, Jordana Renert) & (local) Womble Bond Dickinson US LLP (Matthew Ward)

    • Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors (BOKF NA, Nelson Brothers Mining Services LLC, Wyoming Machinery Company, Cummins Inc., ESCO Group LLC, Tractor & Equipment Co., Kennebec Global)

      • Legal: Morrison & Foerster LLP (Lorenzo Marinuzzi, Jennifer Marines, Todd Goren, Daniel Harris, Mark Lightner) & Morris James LLP (Carl Kunz III, Brya Keilson, Eric Monzo)

      • Investment Banker: Jefferies LLC (Leon Szlezinger)

Update: 7/7/19 #379

New Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Filing - F+W Media Inc.

F+W Media Inc.

March 10, 2019

WAAAAAAY back in September 2018, we highlighted in our Members’-only piece, “Online Education & ‘Community’ (Long Helen Mirren),” that esteemed author and professor Clayton Christensen was bullish about the growth of online education and bearish about colleges and universities in the US. We also wrote that Masterclass, a SF-based online education platform that gives students “access” to lessons from the likes of Helen Mirren(acting), Malcolm Gladwell (writing) and Ken Burns (documentary film making) had just raised $80mm in Series D financing, bringing its total fundraising to $160mm. Online education is growing, we noted, comporting nicely with Christensen’s thesis.

But we didn’t stop there. We counter-punched by noting the following:

Yet, not all online educational tools are killing it. Take F+W Media Inc., for instance. F+W is a New York-based private equity owned content and e-commerce company; it publishes magazines, books, digital products like e-books and e-magazines, produces online video, offers online education, and operates a variety of e-commerce channels that support the various subject matters it specializes in, e.g., arts & crafts, antiques & collectibles, and writing. Writer’s Digest is perhaps its best known product. Aspiring writers can go there for online and other resources to learn how to write.

For the last several years F+W has endeavored to shift from its legacy print business to a more digital operation; it is also beginning to show cracks. Back in January, the company’s CEO, COO and CTO left the company. A media and publishing team from FTI Consulting Inc. ($FTI) is (or at least was) embedded with new management. The company has been selling non-core assets (most recently World Tea Media). Its $125mm 6.5% first lien term loan due June 2019 was recently bid at 63 cents on the dollar (with a yield-to-worst of 74.8% — yields are inversely proportional to price), demonstrating, to put it simply, a market view that the company may not be able to pay the loan (or refinance the loan at or below the current economics) when it comes due.

Unlike MasterClass and Udacity and others, F+W didn’t start as an all-digital enterprise. The shift from a legacy print media business to a digital business is a time-consuming and costly one. Old management got that process started; new management will need to see it through, managing the company’s debt in the process. If the capital markets become less favorable and/or the business doesn’t show that the turnaround can result in meaningful revenue, the company could be F(+W)’d(emphasis added)

Nailed it.

On March 10, 2019, F+W Media Inc., a multi-media company owning and operating print and digital media platforms, filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in the District of Delaware along with several affiliated entities. We previously highlighted Writer’s Digest, but the company’s most successful revenue streams are its “Crafts Community” ($32.5mm of revenue in 2018) and “Artist’s Network” ($.8.7mm of revenue in 2018); it also has a book publishing business that generated $22mm in 2018. In terms of “master classes,” the bankruptcy papers provide an intimate look into just how truly difficult it is to transform a legacy print business into a digital multi-media business.

The numbers are brutal. The company notes that:

“In the years since 2015 alone, the Company’s subscribers have decreased from approximately 33.4 million to 21.5 million and the Company’s advertising revenue has decreased from $20.7 million to $13.7 million.”

This, ladies and gentlemen, reflects in concrete numbers, what many in media these days have been highlighting about the ad-based media model. The company continues:

Over the past decade, the market for subscription print periodicals of all kinds, including those published by the Company, has been in decline as an increasing amount of content has become available electronically at little or no cost to readers. In an attempt to combat this decline, the Company began looking for new sources of revenue growth and market space for its enthusiast brands. On or around 2008, the Company decided to shift its focus to e-commerce upon the belief that its enthusiast customers would purchase items from the Company related to their passions besides periodicals, such as craft and writing supplies. With its large library of niche information for its hobbyist customers, the Company believed it was well-positioned to make this transition.

What’s interesting is that, rather than monetize their “Communities” directly, the company sought to pursue an expensive merchandising strategy that required a significant amount of upfront investment. The company writes:

In connection with this new approach, the Company took on various additional obligations across its distribution channel, including purchasing the merchandise it would sell online, storing merchandise in leased warehouses, marketing merchandise on websites, fulfilling orders, and responding to customer service inquiries. Unfortunately, these additional obligations came at a tremendous cost to the Company, both in terms of monetary loss and the deterioration of customer relationships.

In other words, rather than compete as a media company that would serve (and monetize) its various niche audiences, the company apparently sought to use its media as a marketing arm for physical products — in essence, competing with the likes of Amazon Inc. ($AMZN)Walmart Inc. ($WMT) and other specialty hobbyist retailers. As if that wasn’t challenging enough, the company’s execution apparently sucked sh*t:

As a consequence of this shift in strategic approach, the Company was required to enter into various technology contracts which increased capital expenditures by 385% in 2017 alone. And, because the Company had ventured into fields in which it lacked expertise, it soon realized that the technology used on the Company’s websites was unnecessary or flawed, resulting in customer service issues that significantly damaged the Company’s reputation and relationship with its customers. By example, in 2018 in the crafts business alone, the Company spent approximately $6 million on its efforts to sell craft ecommerce and generated only $3 million in revenue.

Last we checked, spending $2 to make $1 isn’t good business. Well, unless you’re Uber or Lyft, we suppose. But those are transformative visionary companies (or so the narrative goes). Here? We’re talking about arts and crafts. 🙈

As if that cash burn wasn’t bad enough, in 2013 the company entered into a $135mm secured credit facility ($125mm TL; $10mm RCF) to fund its operations. By 2017, the company owed $99mm in debt and was in default of certain covenants (remember those?) under the facility. Luckily, it had some forgiving lenders. And by “forgiving,” we mean lenders who were willing to equitize the loan, reduce the company’s indebtedness by $100mm and issue a new amended and restated credit facility of $35mm (as well as provide a new $15mm tranche) — all in exchange for a mere 97% of the company’s equity (and some nice fees, we imagine). Savage!

As if the spend $2 to make $1 thing wasn’t enough to exhibit that management wasn’t, uh, “managing” so well, there’s this:

The Company utilized its improved liquidity position as a result of the Restructuring to continue its efforts to evolve from a legacy print business to an e-commerce business. However, largely as a result of mismanagement, the Company exhausted the entire $15 million of the new funding it received in the six (6) months following the Restructuring. In those six (6) months, the Company’s management dramatically increased spending on technology contracts, merchandise to store in warehouses, and staffing while the Company was faltering and revenue was declining. The Company’s decision to focus on e-commerce and deemphasize print and digital publishing accelerated the decline of the Company’s publishing business, and the resources spent on technology hurt the Company’s viability because the technology was flawed and customers often had issues with the websites.

What happened next? Well, management paid themselves millions upon millions of dollars in bonuses! Ok, no, just kidding but ask yourself: would you have really been surprised if that were so?? Instead, apparently the board of directors awoke from a long slumber and decided to FINALLY sh*tcan the management team. The board brought in a new CEO and hired FTI Consulting Inc. ($FTI) to help right the ship. They quickly discovered that the e-commerce channel was sinking the business (PETITION Note: this is precisely why many small startup businesses build their e-commerce platforms on top of the likes of Shopify Inc. ($SHOP) — to avoid precisely the e-commerce startup costs and issues F+W experienced here.).

Here is where you insert the standard operational restructuring playbook. Someone built out a 13-week cash flow model and it showed that the company was bleeding cash. Therefore, people got fired and certain discreet assets got sold. The lenders, of course, took some of those sale proceeds to setoff some of their debt. The company then refreshed the 13-week cash flow model and…lo and behold…it was still effed! Why? It still carried product inventory and had to pay for storage, it was paying for more lease space than it needed, and its migration of e-commerce to partnerships with third party vendors, while profitable, didn’t have meaningful enough margin (particularly after factoring in marketing expenses). So:

Realizing that periodic asset sales are not a long-term operational solution, the Company’s board requested alternative strategies for 2019, ranging from a full liquidation to selling a significant portion of the Company’s assets to help stabilize operations. Ultimately, the Company determined that the only viable alternative, which would allow it to survive while providing relief from its obligations, was to pursue a sale transaction within the context of a chapter 11 filing.

Greenhill & Co. Inc. ($GHL) is advising the company with respect to a sale of the book publishing business. FTI is handling the sale of the company’s Communities business. The company hopes both processes are consummated by the end of May and middle of June, respectively. The company secured an $8mm DIP credit facility to fund the cases.

And that DIP ended up being the source of some controversy at the First Day hearing. Yesterday morning, Judge Gross reportedly rebuked the lenders for seeking a 20% closing fee on the $8mm DIP; he suggested 10%. Per The Wall Street Journal:

Judge Gross said he didn’t want to play “chicken” with the lenders, but that he didn’t believe they should use the bankruptcy financing to recoup what they were owed before the chapter 11 filing.

Wow. Finally some activist push-back on excessive bankruptcy fees! Better late than never.

  • Jurisdiction: D. of Delaware (Judge Gross)

  • Capital Structure:

  • Professionals:

    • Legal: Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor LLP (Pauline Morgan, Kenneth Enos, Elizabeth Justison, Allison Mielke, Jared Kochenash)

    • Financial Advisor: FTI Consulting Inc. (Michael Healy)

    • Investment Banker: Greenhill & Co.

    • Claims Agent: Epiq Bankruptcy Solutions LLC (*click on the link above for free docket access)

  • Other Parties in Interest:

    • Prepetition & Postpetition DIP Agent ($8mm): Fortress Credit Co. LLC)

      • Legal: Halperin Battaglia Benzija LLP (Alan Halperin, Walter Benzija, Julie Goldberg) & (local) Bielili & Klauder LLC (David Klauder)

    • DIP Lenders: Drawbridge Special Opportunities Fund LP, New F&W Media M Holdings Corp LLC, PBB Investments III LLC, CION Investment Corporation, Ellington Management Group, or affiliates thereof to be determined.

    • Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors (LSC Communications US, Inc. and Palm Coast Data LLC)

      • Legal: Arent Fox LLP (Robert Hirsh, Jordana Renert) & (local) Morris James LLP (Eric Monzo, Brya Keilson)

      • Financial Advisor: B. Riley FBR (Adam Rosen)

Updated 4/23

New Chapter 11 Filing - TerraVia Holdings Inc.

TerraVia Holdings Inc.

  • 8/1/17 Recap: TerraVia, a publicly-traded (Nasdaq: $TVIA) "next-generation" algae-based food company based out of San Francisco filed for bankruptcy. The company has a stalking horse bidder lined up to buy it for $20mm plus certain assumed liabilities and seeks to jam this case through bankruptcy in about 6 weeks lest it run out liquidity in the process (even with a proposed $10mm DIP); it claims that more time is unnecessary given that it ran a robust marketing process pre-filing that included outreach to over 100 parties. We'll let the company economics do the rest of the talking (see below).
  • Jurisdiction: (Judge Sontchi)
  • Capital Structure: $144.2mm 5% '19 convertible senior subordinated notes (GLAS Trust Company LLC) & $33.475mm 6% '18 convertible senior subordinated notes (Wilmington Trust)   
  • Company Professionals:
    • Legal: Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP (Damian Schaible, Steven Szanzer, Adam Shpeen, Benjamin Kaminetzky) & (local) Richards Layton & Finger P.A. (Mark Collins, Amanda Steele)
    • Financial Advisor: 
    • Investment Banker: Rothschild & Co. (Tero Janne)
    • Claims Agent: KCC (*click on company name above for free docket access)
  • Other Parties in Interest:
    • DIP Agent: Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB & Ad Hoc Consortium of Holders of Convertible Senior Subordinated Debt (Gilead Capital LP, Higher Ground SICAV PLC Core Wealth Fund, Lazard Asset Management LLC, Passport Capital LLC, Wolverine Asset Management LLC, Zazove Associates LLC)
      • Legal: Brown Rudnick LLP (Robert Stark, Steven Levine, Brian Rice, Kellie Fisher) & (local) Ashby & Geddes P.A. (William Bowden, Gregory Taylor, Katharina Earle)
      • Financial Advisor: GLC Advisors & Co. LLC
    • Passport Capital
      • Legal: Shearman & Sterling LLP (Joel Moss) & (local) Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP (Patrick Jackson)
    • 6% Notes Successor Trustee: Wilmington Trust NA
      • Legal: Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP (Craig Barbarosh, Karen Dine, Jerry Hall) & (local) Morris James LLP (Eric Monzo)
    • JV Partner: Bunge Global Innovation LLC
      • Legal: Jones Day (Joshua Morse)
    • Silicon Valley Bank
      • Legal: Troutman Sanders LLP (Harris Winsberg, Stephen Roach) & (local) Chipman Brown Cicero & Cole LLP (William Chipman Jr., Mark Olivere)
    • Corbion NV
      • Legal: Baker & McKenzie LLP (Debra Dandeneau, Frank Grese) & (local) Whiteford Taylor & Preston LLC (L. Katherine Good, Aaron Stulman)

Updated 8/26/17

First Day Declaration.

First Day Declaration.

New Chapter 11 Filing - Nuverra Environmental Solutions Inc.

Nuverra Environmental Solutions Inc.

  • 5/1/17 Recap: Once publicly-traded Arizona-based environmental solutions provider (obviously) to oil and natural gas shale-oriented energy and exploration companies filed for chapter 11 to delever its balance sheet pursuant to a restructuring support agreement and prepackaged plan of reorganization agreed to by its major lenders. The company seeks approval of a $31.5mm DIP to fund the cases. The term lenders will receive equity, cash, and board seats, the '21 noteholders 99.75% of the reorganized equity and the '18 noteholders will get the remainder (subject to a rights offering post-confirmation and a management incentive plan...of course). And as you might expect, the equityholders stand to recover bupkis. 
  • Jurisdiction: D. of Delaware
  • Capital Structure: $24.6mm ABL (funded - Wells Fargo Bank NA), $80mm TL, $327mm 12.5%/10% '21 senior secured second lien notes, $40.4mm '18 9.875% unsecured senior notes (Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company NA, replaced by Wilmington Trust Savings Fund Society FSB) 
  • Company Professionals:
    • Legal: Shearman & Sterling LLP (Douglas Bartner, Fredric Sosnick, Sara Coelho, Stephen Blank) & (local) Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor LLP (Pauline Morgan, Kenneth Enos, Jamie Luton Chapman)
    • Financial Advisor/CRO: AlixPartners LLC (Robert Albergotti, Dan Kelsall)
    • Investment Banker: Lazard Middle Market LLC (Andrew Torgove)
    • Claims Agent: Prime Clerk LLC (*click on company name above for free docket access)
  • Other Parties in Interest:
    • Ad Hoc Group of '21 Supporting Noteholders
      • Legal: Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson LLP (Brad Scheler, Jennifer Rodburg, Carl Stapen) & Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones LLP (Laura Davis Jones, Peter Keane)
    • RCF Agent: Wells Fargo Bank NA
      • Legal: Goldberg Kohn Ltd. (Randall Klein, Dimitri Karcazes, Gary Zussman, Jacob Marshall) & (local) DLA Piper LLP (Stuart Brown, Daniel Brogan)
    • Trustee to '21 Senior Secured Second Lien Notes & TL Agent: Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB
      • Legal: Morrison & Foerster LLP (Jonathan Levine, James Newton) & (local) Morris James LLP (Eric Monzo) 
    • Term Lenders: Ascribe Capital LLC, Gates Capital Management Inc.
    • Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors
      • Legal: Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP (Todd Meyers, Paul Rosenblatt, Jonathan Polonsky, Michael Langford, Lindsey Simon) & (local) Landis Rath & Cobb LLP (Richard Cobb, Matthew McGuire, Travis Ferguson, Matthew Pierce)
      • Financial Advisor: Batuta Capital Advisors LLC (Alexandre Zyngier)

Updated 7/13/17 1:56 am CT

New Chapter 11 Filing - Sungevity Inc.

Sungevity Inc.

  • 3/13/17 Recap: Oakland California-based designer of residential and commercial solar energy systems in the US, UK and Europe filed for bankruptcy after a failed merger and an inability to service its capital structure. Large equity holders include Apollo Investment Corporation and Lowe's Corporation. The company secured a $20mm DIP facility to pursue a sale to a stalking horse bidder. 
  • 4/17/17 Update: The company received no competitive qualified bids and, therefore, sought approval of the sale to the stalking horse bidder.
  • Jurisdiction: D. of Delaware
  • Capital Structure: $145.6mm of funded debt (Hercules Capital Inc. - $55mm, MMA Energy Capital LLC - $10mm, MHA Trust LLC - $5mm, Wilmington Savings Fund Society - $9.5mm bridge loan, Atalaya Special Opportunities Fund VI LP - $32mm, $34.1mm convertible notes     
  • Company Professionals:
    • Legal: Morrison & Foerster LLP (Jonathan Levine, Jennifer Marines, Melissa Hager, Erica Richards, Todd Goren, Rahman Connelly, Andrew Kissner, Stacy Molison) & (local) Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor LLP (M. Blake Cleary, Jamie Lutonn Chapman, Kenneth Listak)
    • Financial Advisor: AlixPartners LLC (Randall Eisenberg, Stephen Spitzer, James Guglielmo, Raju Patel, Allen Wong)
    • Investment Banker: Ducera Securities LLC (Joshua Scherer) & Greentech Capital Advisors (Michael Horwitz)
    • Claims Agent: KCC (*click on company name for docket)
  • Other Parties in Interest:
    • DIP Lender & Stalking Horse Bidder: LSHC Solar Holdings LLC (JV between Northern Pacific Group and Hercules Capital Inc.)
      • Legal: Kirkland & Ellis LLP (Brad Weiland, Christine Pirro) & (local) Klehr Harrison Harvey Branzburg LLP (Domenic Pacitti)
    • Hercules Capital Inc.
      • Legal: Cole Schotz P.C. (Stuart Komrower, Katharina Earle)
    • Second Lien Lender: MMA Energy Capital LLC
      • Legal: Baker & McKenzie LLP (Debra Dandeneau, Jacob Kaplan) & (local) Richards Layton & Finger PA (Paul Heath, Zachary Shapiro)
    • Lowe's Corporation
      • Legal: Hunton & Williams LLP (Gregory Hesse, Nicole Collins)
    • Verengo Inc. (also in Chapter 11)
      • Legal: Bayard PA (Scott Cousins, Evan Miller)
    • Eastern Sun Capital Partners LLC 
      • Legal: Goodwin Proctor LLP (Kizzy Jarashow, David Koch) & (local) Whiteford Taylor & Preston LLP (Christopher Samis, L. Katherine Good)
    • Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors
      • Legal: Brown Rudnick LLP (Steven Pohl, Sunni Beville, Christopher Floyd, Tristan Axelrod, Fouad Kurdi) & (local) Morris James LLP (Jeffrey Waxman, Eric Monzo)
      • Financial Advisor: Goldin Associates LLC (Gary Polkowitz)

Updated 5/31/17