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Thread: Bruce - what are the dealers hearing?

  1. #31
    EBRforum Expert Scott's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Plotter View Post
    Just opening direct communications with the dealers would be an awesome step... Don't have anything to tell you, but we want to let you know we are here. We support you... We are doing what we can... not through chat rooms and messages, but an actual live person on the phone... a link to the company... what are your concerns, let me write them down... call me when you have questions, I might not have answers, but how much stress could that alleviate...

    Has anything like that happened?
    It would make dealers feel better and it would be relatively easy (Bruce or Erik could personally make a quick call to all of the approximately 100 dealers in a day). It would also be the obvious thing to do.

    That leads me to believe they feel they have a specific reason to not contact the dealers. It's not like it just slipped their mind. I don't know why they feel they shouldn't contact dealers, so I can't say if it's foolish or a reasoned decision.

    I suspect lawyers are involved at some level.

  2. #32
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    Just posted to Badweb by a former Buell/EBR employee (a very reliable source)- the deal has fallen apart. The Receiver says a new auction will be held on December 10th.

    (For some reason, it's not letting me paste the link here). Go to www.badweatherbikers.com, EBR & Buell in the News, thread titled "When will EBR resume operations?".)

  3. #33
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hughlysses View Post
    Just posted to Badweb by a former Buell/EBR employee (a very reliable source)- the deal has fallen apart. The Receiver says a new auction will be held on December 10th.

    (For some reason, it's not letting me paste the link here). Go to www.badweatherbikers.com, EBR & Buell in the News, thread titled "When will EBR resume operations?".)
    Wow. . .

  4. #34
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    Update from Bruce posted to Badweb. He is not out yet and plans to be there at the new auction. Sounds like our favorite former partners may have deliberately delayed things.

  5. #35
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hughlysses View Post
    Update from Bruce posted to Badweb. He is not out yet and plans to be there at the new auction. Sounds like our favorite former partners may have deliberately delayed things.
    So if I understand from his comments (and please correct me if I'm misunderstanding):

    The court required Bruce to close by Sept. 30th.

    The deadline for Hero to close out claims against EBR was Oct. 6th.

    Bruce needed a line of credit in the 10's of millions to be sure he would have the cash to make this work.

    Hero held out until the last moment and didn't finish their claims prior to Sept. 30th.

    Since the bank couldn't be sure Hero wouldn't make claims against assets Bruce wanted to claim, they weren't willing to offer the line of credit.

    Now Bruce has to bid again (and has expressed an interest to do so) on Dec. 10th.

    Beyond frustrating, but at least it explains why the new EBR hasn't been communicating. The new EBR never officially existed so they couldn't have commented if they wanted to.

    It seems that, unless any other parties have become interested in the interim, Bruce should win the bid again and move forward more cleanly than before . . . though it is quite possible that now that Hero is officially no longer in the picture, other interested parties could come out of the woodwork. That sucks for Bruce, but it could be good or bad for the rest of us depending on who those hypothetical other parties might be.

  6. #36
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    ^ I think that pretty well sums it up. I'd guess the reason we haven't heard anything sooner is because Bruce was trying to convince the court to go ahead and let them make the purchase rather than going through another auction.

    It's also clear they haven't been sitting on their hands since September 30th, so while this has got to be a setback, hopefully they will be MORE ready to go if/when the sale is finally completed.

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    the road goes on forever but the party never ends

  8. #38
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hughlysses View Post
    ^ I think that pretty well sums it up. I'd guess the reason we haven't heard anything sooner is because Bruce was trying to convince the court to go ahead and let them make the purchase rather than going through another auction.

    It's also clear they haven't been sitting on their hands since September 30th, so while this has got to be a setback, hopefully they will be MORE ready to go if/when the sale is finally completed.
    That also explains why we were told to expect something by the end of Sept.

    Of course one other potential outcome of the new auction is, after other bidders have seen how difficult this was, they stay home. Bruce gets it for $1 and saves $2,499,999. In which case, the court will have done a favor to Bruce but a disservice to creditors.

  9. #39
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    Confirmation of this story: http://www.jsonline.com/business/erik-buell-racing -motorcycle-company-deal-hits-a-roadblock-b9961675 4z1-350596331.html

    The plan to restart Erik Buell Racing motorcycle company of East Troy faces a roadblock that's sending it back to bankruptcy court, it was revealed Monday.

    Erik Buell Racing was the sequel to Buell Motorcycle Co., which Harley-Davidson Inc. owned for more than a decade before dropping the brand in 2009 and leaving company founder Erik Buell to start over on his own.

    Court records showed the company had $20.8 million in assets and $20.4 million in liabilities when it shut down in April and sought court protection from creditors.

    In August, motorcycle enthusiast Bruce Belfer of West Allenhurst, N.J., bought the manufacturing assets of Buell for $2.25 million, while Hero MotoCorp. of India paid $2.8 million for Buell's consulting business.

    Monday, Belfer said the deal is headed back to bankruptcy court, for another court-ordered auction, because problems with the first settlement meant that he could not secure financing to recapitalize the business because of an uncertain balance sheet.

    "I've done some tough deals in my career, but this was, in my opinion, intentionally complicated ... If you want some idea what it's been like, try taking a deep breath on August 5th and holding it for three months," Belfer said.

    Belfer said he is still committed to buying Erik Buell Racing and will be at the Dec. 10 court-ordered auction.

    "Throughout this, I have made a point not to make any promises before I was in position to deliver. I know this has frustrated some of you, but the worst thing any business can do is make commitments it is not yet able to keep. Bear in mind, the only other bidders were all liquidators. I'm used to keeping my promises, and I promise you this: I don't quit," Belfer said.

    This story will be updated throughout the day.

  10. #40
    EBRforum Expert Scott's Avatar
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    I certainly like what Bruce says. Hopefully he'll have a chance to turn those words into reality.

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