SC&H Capital, an investment bank specializing in M&A advisory, acted as the exclusive investment banker to A.C. Furniture Company in its sale of equipment and real estate assets to Linon, Blue Empire and Holland Industrial Group.
Linon purchased three of the five real estate properties and all the inventory and equipment and intellectual property. Holland Industrial was the highest bidder on A.C. Furniture’s headquarters in Axton, VA, and Blue Empire was the successful bidder for a second property in Axton.
Following a steep downturn in revenues, A.C. Furniture, a custom manufacturer of commercial seating products, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Feb. 3, 2020. Soon after, A.C. Furniture petitioned the bankruptcy court to engage SC&H Capital to explore strategic options for the company, and on March 24, 2020, SC&H was approved to market A.C. Furniture for a sale.
SC&H conducted a marketing process culminating in a final bid-off among qualified bidders on July 21, 2020. Early in the process, A.C. Furniture shuttered its operations due to COVID-19. SC&H continued to market the business and, trying to attract as many buyers as possible, offered each of the five real estate parcels, inventory and intellectual property, machinery and equipment, and accounts receivable as separate bid lots and in various combinations.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world we live in. Despite the pandemic, SC&H was able to market the business during a time when virtually every customer of A.C. Furniture was shutdown. Although we did experience a slight delay to allow buyers time to travel to A.C. Furniture to inspect the business and assets, that delay was limited to only 30 days. Nine bidders participated at a live auction, which produced more than 35 bids and nearly a twofold improvement on values from the start of the auction. Our success, in this case, can be attributed to SC&H’s tenacity to persevere through what has been one of the most disruptive economic and social periods in American history.” Fred Cross, principal at SC&H Capital, said.
Other professionals who worked on the transaction include:
- William Callahan of Gentry Locke Rakes & Moore, Chapter 7 trustee
- Peter Pearl and Lori Thompson of Spilman Thomas & Battle, counsel to SummitBridge National Investments VI
- Rich Maxwell of Woods Rogers, counsel to Bank of The James
- Andy Goldstein of Magee, Goldstein, Lasky & Sayers as counsel to Thoroughbred Holdings
- David Baker, Laura Kendall and John McGee of Aurora Management Partners, chief restructuring officer for the debtor
- Robert Boghosian of Cohen, Tauber, Spievack & Wagner, counsel to Linon Powell
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