American Industrial Bids for Fleetwood Enterprises
Bankrupted RV-maker also dumps trailer plant to manufacturing company via court sale; bids can trump PE bidder until mid-June.
May 21, 2009
Fleetwood Enterprises, the listed, Oregon RV-maker, will sell its vehicle business to New York private equity firm American Industrial Partners.
Provided that the American Industrial bid is approved today, other bids will be accepted until Jun 18 and the business’ auction would take place on June 22.
American Industrial Partners, provided it is successful, will be taking over Fleetwood’s motor home business, and not its closed travel-trailer plants, including five plants in Decatur, Indiana, and the target’s motor home brands.
The business will be sold for $53 million, and comes just as the company is also selling its La Grande, Oregon, trailer plant, through a separate court sale, to RV-maker Northwood Manufacturing for $2 million. Fleetwood shuttered that plant in March, also when it filed for bankruptcy, and laid off about 160 workers there.
Fleetwood revealed that it has about $20.7 million in assets, and $265 million in debt, much of that to unsecured creditors.
Fleetwood also continues to seek buyers for its manufactured housing division.
American Industrial Partners buys manufacturing and industrial services companies with Ebitda ranging between $10 million and $70 million using equity investments of up to $70 million and outside investment partners.
At a time when the automotive industry is flailing, bankruptcies have created opportunities for strategic and financial buyers alike. In March, Navistar International Corp., the listed vehicle maker, agreed to acquire Monaco Coach, which, like Fleetwood, entered into bankruptcy prior to receiving the offer.
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