The result - who bought the EBR? Demetri Melekos?
EBR 1190 RX
Nobody bought it yet. The judge did not approve the results of the original auction (sale to the liquidator). The court hearing will be continued on January 14, and the judge will decide what happens at that time. I would not be surprised if the sale is delayed even further after that.
It is very strange...
EBR 1190 RX
Welcome to the US legal system.
If no one had objected at yesterday's hearing, I believe the judge would have approved the outcome of the auction and the winner, Liquid Assets, would now own the remains of EBR. Apparently Bruce Belfer and Demetri Melekos both raised objections, stating that they had plans to re-start motorcycle production. I believe the judge has to consider the merits of selling EBR for slightly more money to the liquidator, versus the benefit of resuming motorcycle production, which would bring jobs back to the area, generate additional tax revenue for the state of Wisconsin, etc.
The delay until January 14 gives both sides (Liquid Assets vs. Bruce and/or Demetri) time to prepare their arguments. The judge may still approve the original sale, because he may be skeptical of the long-term ability of Bruce or Demetri to restart motorcycle production, or he may decide that it is more important to pay the creditors as much as possible. I suppose he could order ANOTHER auction on January 14 since the delay may give each party more time to raise cash.
Article on yesterday's hearing: http://www.jsonline.com/business/jud...362120151.html
This gives me more time to win big in the lottery and buy it all and restart it myself.
That provides a clearer picture. Based on everything we've seen and heard, I get the sense the liquidator might have misrepresented their intentions and Bruce may have stepped back and let them have it with the idea that they were going to keep the company going (as he seemed to indicate in his initial comments). If Bruce trusted them, he might not have gone as far as he could have.
Hopefully now that there's a clearer picture either Bruce or Demetri . . . or maybe a joint effort can get enough to prevent it from being scrapped. The liquidator must have a ceiling that they won't be willing to go above, and hopefully they're close now.
I don't know how it will work from here. The judge didn't call for a new auction, so it seems like if Demetri or Bruce could show up in January ready to match the liquidator's offer, they should be able to get it since an equal bid from someone who wants to keep the company together should be preferable to the same bid from a liquidator. But would such an offer reopen bidding and allow the liquidator to increase their offer?