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Thread: Bruce - what are the dealers hearing?

  1. #41
    EBRforum Expert Scott's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Scott View Post

    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.
    This becomes more interesting with Bruce's comments that the other bidders were liquidators. Will they bother showing up on Dec. 10th if they know Bruce is willing to go over $2 million (I thought it was 2.5 mil, but apparently it was 2.25)? It seems possible that he could be the only one there and save some money . . . or if there are other bidders, they could be motorcycle people who have gained interest since the first auction.

  2. #42
    EBRforum Expert Scott's Avatar
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    Does anyone else think there may be more here than meets the eye? It's probably just my ignorance of how these things are handled, but let me explain why I think there could be something going on.

    The judge already knows that there were only three interested parties at the first auction and the most interested of those, Bruce, bid $2.25 mil. The judge knows that Bruce is still interested and will be bidding again. Presumably, the other two parties won't be bidding any higher than they did last time, so why is the judge putting this back up for auction? Isn't there a good chance it will go for a lower value and cost creditors money? If I were the judge, and unless any other parties had contacted either me or the receiver and expressed an interest in paying over $2.25 million, I think I would contact the previous bidders and ask if they were willing to bid more than $2.25 million, and if not, I would extend the deadline for Bruce to close. Who is being served by a new auction unless there's more going on and interested parties who weren't involved in the first auction?

  3. #43
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    Article updated with more info including comments from Erik, and a hint that there may indeed be more bidders:

    http://www.jsonline.com/business/eri...350596331.html

  4. #44
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hughlysses View Post
    Article updated with more info including comments from Erik, and a hint that there may indeed be more bidders:<br>
    <br>
    <a href="http://www.jsonline.com/business/erik-buell-racing-motorcycle-company-deal-hits-a-roadblock-b99616754z1-350596331.html" target="_blank">http://www.jsonline.com/business/erik-buell-racing-motorcycle-company-deal-hits-a-roadblock-b99616754z1-350596331.html</a>
    That's certainly interesting. Could be bad news for Bruce, but good news for us.

    Others could be interested in acquiring the company at the next auction. Earlier, some had said that Polaris Industries, the Medina, Minn., maker of Victory and Indian motorcycles was a potential buyer.

    In August, there were interested buyers who weren't ready then, according to Buell.

    "I think the company will be restarted. I am still a big believer in the capabilities of the people, and in the desire in the marketplace for there to finally be an American sport-bike brand. Hopefully we will have some really good news in December," he said.

    Now that Hero has been removed from the equation and after seeing the relatively low price the company went for last time, people could be re-thinking things.

  5. #45
    EBRforum Expert Scott's Avatar
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    Interestingly, Bruce may have actually made Polaris more interested than they were before. Polaris is clearly dipping a toe in the sport-bike market and might have felt pretty comfortable at the time of the original auction that if they just let EBR be sold off in parts, they'd be the only game in town. But a bad-ass from NJ showed up and made it clear he intended to make American Sport Motorcycles. That might have Polaris thinking it would make sense to profit from a resurgent EBR rather than competing against them.

    . . . or maybe Harley is recognizing the threat Polaris poses and would like a sport-bike of their own.

    All just wild, baseless speculation, but it will be fun to see how this all shakes out.

  6. #46
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    It will be interesting to see if there are any other bidders at the auction. It might seem like a good thing if a major manufacturer like Polaris or Harley took an interest, but in that case the last ~3 months were completely wasted. Bruce indicates they've been working hard behind the scenes all this time, and I'd imagine they know EXACTLY what they want to do starting on day 1 if he successfully acquires it again. Hopefully the money Hero paid for the "consulting business" has been used to pay employee's claims, back rent on the factory buildings, etc. Then again, I'd imagine Bruce has sunk quite a bit of his money into this and it'd be a shame if all that got flushed down the drain.

    We'll have to wait ~3.2 weeks to find out the auction outcome and 4 weeks (for the next court date) to know for certain I guess.
    Last edited by Hughlysses; 11-17-2015 at 12:53 PM.

  7. #47
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    Another article with additional quotes from Bruce:

    http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee...gh-second.html

    It sounds like he expects to pay less this time.

  8. #48
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hughlysses View Post
    Another article with additional quotes from Bruce:

    http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee...gh-second.html

    It sounds like he expects to pay less this time.
    It will be interesting to see. Not only will fewer assets reduce price, but the time it has taken to get restarted, dealers losing interest, etc. will also potentially reduce value. People have also seen how difficult it is, and Bruce has likely done some work over the past few months that will make him more prepared than anyone else to get back up and running.

    On the other hand, removal of Hero from the equation plus people seeing the relatively low selling price last time could get other parties interested (and that sucks for Bruce because events forced him to tip his hand. Ideally potential buyers would like to go into this with nobody knowing what they might be willing to pay).

    I think there are two potential outcomes and both are probably equally likely at this point:

    1. Nobody else will show up and Bruce will buy it for less than before.

    2. Other people interested in making motorcycles who didn't show up last time could show up this time and create more of a bidding war.

    I kind of suspect no liquidators will show up this time since they'll know Bruce will be willing to out-bid them. For Bruce's sake, I hope that if he is destined to be the owner he can get it as cheaply as possible so his cash can be reinvested in making motorcycles.

    But while I'm sort of rooting for Bruce, it would be interesting to see if someone else might make things interesting.

  9. #49
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    I'm starting to wish we'd started a Kickstarter campaign. Joel Hodgson, the creator and original host of Mystery Science Theater 3000, started one (www.bringbackmst3k.com) to resurrect that show last week. He raised over $2m in less than a week!

  10. #50
    EBRforum Expert Scott's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hughlysses View Post
    I'm starting to wish we'd started a Kickstarter campaign. Joel Hodgson, the creator and original host of Mystery Science Theater 3000, started one (www.bringbackmst3k.com) to resurrect that show last week. He raised over $2m in less than a week!
    I think there are a lot more MST3K fans than EBR fans . . . but we're probably more passionate. If Bruce is highest bidder again, I'd put some money into a kickstarter campaign. It would likely end up being drops in an ocean, but if nothing else, it could help convince lenders that there is support and interest.

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