Case Studies

Receivership of Insolvent Pistachio Processor to Sell Business and Real Estate Assets

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Home·Receivership of Insolvent Pistachio Processor to Sell Business and Real Estate Assets

The Situation

A vertically integrated grower and processor of pistachios, with over $85M in senior secured principal and interest outstanding and a 40-acre processing facility with a 39-acre wastewater application site, became insolvent and operations were paralyzed due to years of mismanagement and an inefficient processing facility. After defaulting on its debt obligations, the company’s senior secured lenders moved to appoint a receiver to protect their collateral, preserve principal, and oversee the wind-down or sale of assets.

How We Advised

As receiver, we recovered and distributed over $71M to the secured lenders in approximately ten months. Keys to the successful outcome included:

  • Assuming control of all company assets spanning six California properties, including a 40-acre pistachio processing facility with a 39-acre wastewater application site;
  • Re-engaging and managing disenfranchised employees through clearly defined goals, expectations, and incentive compensation plan;
  • Increasing marketable pistachio inventory poundage and value by nearly 80%, from $21.2M to $37.7M, by identifying and remedying improper inventory management practices and resuming processing operations;
  • Quickly identifying and fulfilling the opportunity to generate approximately $14M in incremental liquidity by selling a substantial quantity of low-quality inventory to a rapidly growing, Dubai-based chocolatier with advanced payment;
  • Executing a comprehensive process to sell the 40-acre processing facility for $32.5M via public auction by retaining an investment banker, preparing due diligence, and conducting site tours; and
  • Strategically negotiating with stalking horse bidder to exclude assets and equipment considered redundant from its bid for the processing facility, then auctioned such assets for $1.6M to competitors to improve lender recoveries.

Our Solutions

  • Improperly stored inventory was deteriorating with a non-operating plant and no sales plan, potentially compromising collateral value and the lenders’ recovery. Our team provided support by:
    • Quickly retaining, building, leading, and aligning incentives with a sales team, enabling the receivership to significantly outperform the company’s sales expectations.
    • Immediately restarting the idle plant and developing collateral protection and sales plans.
    • Designing and staffing a plan to clean, organize, and properly store pistachios to preserve collateral value.
    • Categorizing inventory by grade to optimize sale prices for the benefit of the receivership estate.
  • Certain nut inventory was of low quality and only suitable as input for a manufactured product. Our team:
    • Partnered with the company’s sales team to identify and capitalize on a viral chocolate bar trend, “The Dubai Chocolate Bar,” to find customers for the company’s low-quality nuts.
    • Exceeded the company’s sales forecast, substantially improving the secured lenders’ principal recovery to nearly 100%, by negotiating with an international buyer in Dubai to purchase inventory for $14M with advance payments.
  • Company equipment and miscellaneous assets were spread across six facilities, making it difficult to locate and identify due to inaccurate inventory lists and locational data. We worked collaboratively with J.S. Held’s Equipment Consulting practice to verify equipment inventory and analyze completeness of assemblies and systems, and  leveraged our expertise to:
    • Design and implement an exhaustive lotting and tagging process to optimize capital recovery.
    • Conduct appraisals of all surplus equipment that had not been installed in plant operations to determine fair market value.
    • Consolidate equipment storage locations to reduce warehousing costs and simplify the sales process.
    • Successfully negotiate with the stalking-horse bidder to divide assets into two lots for auction: 1) plant and 2) equipment, attracting additional bidders and generating an incremental $1M recovery for the secured lenders.

Key Contact

David Stapleton, CPA, CLPF
Senior Managing Director,
Strategic Advisory Practice
+1 213 235 0601
[email protected]

 

Stephen Potts, MBA, CIRA
Director
Strategic Advisory Practice
+1 207 831 0253
[email protected]

Related Practice Areas

> Receiverships
Federal and state courts, creditors, and legal counsel choose our team to serve as Receiver of distressed businesses and real estate entities. We stabilize operations and cash flow, safeguard business assets, and pursue methods to maximize financial recovery. Our multidisciplinary team applies a wide breadth of restructuring and industry experience as Receiver to take control of companies facing financial, operational, and legal issues.

 

> Bankruptcy Advisory
Navigating bankruptcy is inherently complex, often involving struggling businesses, litigation, incomplete or inaccurate financial records, potential fraud, and other challenges, in addition to strict court-mandated processes. Our experienced team of turnaround and restructuring experts seamlessly guides clients throughout the process to optimize outcomes for lenders, creditors, shareholders, and employees.

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