Case Studies

Stabilizing a Heating Product Distributor

J.S. Held Acquires GLI Advisors, Strengthening Our Construction Project Support Services in the Western US and Hawaii

Read More close Created with Sketch.
Home·Stabilizing a Heating Product Distributor

The Situation

Distributor of fuel and heating products throughout Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. Electricity supplier to Ohio residents. $800 million in annual sales. Annual volume: 350 million gallons of petroleum and 345 million kilowatt-hours of electricity. $50 million bank debt.

  • Oil prices plummeted to record lows due to a global supply surplus and other macroeconomic reasons.
  • The company purchased commodity contracts to hedge supply contracts with its customers. The significant decline in oil prices triggered margin calls of $9 million at the company.
  • The $9 million of cash payments resulted in non-compliance with their Financing Agreement’s Minimum Availability Covenant and depleted most of the company’s line of credit availability and liquidity.
  • The company needed a plan to absorb and fund its operating expenses and cash requirements while complying with its existing credit facilities.

How We Advised

Our experts were engaged to assess short-term liquidity and longer-term viability, explore all strategic options, assess the company’s hedging contracts and existing hedging practices, and recommend changes to their policies and procedures.

  • We provided the analysis (daily, weekly, and monthly) to prepare and negotiate three separate Forbearance Agreements. The Forbearances covered 6 months and initially required a $6 million over-advance, $1 million Minimum Availability Covenant, and $1 million subordinated debt.
  • We also prepared a documented procedure for preparing the company’s liquidity and borrowing base forecasts, along with supporting documents.
  • The financial forecasts were expanded to include monthly income statements, balance sheets, and cash flows.
  • The financial forecasts provided by our team and the resulting Forbearance Agreements provided stakeholders with the necessary time and information to initiate thoroughly analyzed business decisions.
  • Management pursued a multi-path strategy including a) company sale in whole or in part, b) refinancing with the Agent Bank, or c) refinancing with another lender. Ultimately, management decided not to pursue a sale, and the Agent bank decided to exit the credit. However, a Participant Bank was interested in financing 100% of the credit. The Participant Bank initiated due diligence with their team, working closely with our experts and the company.
  • The Agent bank was refinanced and paid out 100% by the Participant Bank. Closing was achieved within 60 days of initiating due diligence and prior to year-end.
  • The company now has a robust financial forecasting system and a new hedging policy with tighter procedures and increased management oversight.

Key Contact

Mike Boudreau, CPA, CTP, CFF 
Director 
Strategic Advisory Practice 
+1 248 227 0978 
[email protected] 

Related Practice Areas

> Liquidity Management 
For companies in distress or undergoing rapid growth, ensuring sufficient cash flow to support operations requires a methodical approach to liquidity management marked by multi-department input, cross-constituent communication, prioritization, and negotiation. 

 

> Business Plan Validation 
We deliver integrated solutions for distressed and insolvent businesses that maximize recovery, mitigate risk, and restore enterprise value. Our experts are retained to help distressed organizations stabilize operations, protect stakeholder interests, and execute turnaround strategies. We take an operationally-focused approach that looks beyond the balance sheet to minimize further degradation and build a path to sustainable growth. Our team delivers hands-on guidance and independent analysis to lenders, creditors, legal counsel, executive teams, boards of directors, and investors. 

Our Experts