-April 25,2019-
All has been quiet since Zacky Farms declared bankruptcy back in November.But now the auction gavel is about to swing and we will find out who ends up with the carcass of this Fresno-area poultry producer.
It looks like OK Produce Co employees will not have far to go to reach their new office, the former Zacky Farms office building in Downtown Fresno, if a deal is finalized.OK Produce put in the top bid to buy the 12,000 sf building, located at 2020 S East Ave, through the bankruptcy court located right next door to their own facility. Despite the bid for $1.9 million, accepted by Zacky Farms, the bid won’t be final until all the auction results are in.
Zacky commenced its bankruptcy case by filing a voluntary petition under Chapter 11 on November 13, 2018. As a results the debtor will sell 15 Central California properties through the bankruptcy auction process with that now scheduled for May 7 and sale announcements May 13.
Stalking horse buyer
Court papers says Zacky has already selected a so called stalking horse buyer for just one of the Assets – OK Produce for the office at 2020 S. East Avenue, Fresno, California – and is currently in serious discussions with numerous other prospective buyers for certain of the other Assets. The Debtor and creditor Great Rock” believe that a number of these prospective buyers are serious buyers who are willing and able to submit qualified bids for one or more of the Assets. The Debtor and Great Rock believe that it would be in the best interests of the Debtor’s estate and creditors to extend certain of the sale related dates and deadlines to facilitate bidding on the Assets from as many qualified bidders as possible.”
Investopedia explains that “A stalking-horse bid is an initial bid on the assets of a bankrupt company. The bankrupt company will choose an entity from a pool of bidders who will make the first bid on the firm’s remaining assets. The stalking horse sets the low-end bidding bar so that other bidders can not underbid the purchase price. The term “stalking horse” originates from a hunter trying to conceal himself behind either a real or fake horse.”
An auction had been set for late April but now it will happen in early May.
Among the assets are several large poultry growing ranches in Kings County including a large 400 acre facility in Corcoran and smaller ranches near Lemoore. Local poultry firms are expected to buy these.
The 164,000sf processing facility at 2950 E California Ave is the largest asset of the bunch sitting on 11.5 acres in Downtown Fresno. It is not considered likely another poultry firm will buy the facility for its current use, as a killing plant. But some other industrial user may be interested.
In announcing the closure of the fourth generation business last fall, CEO Lillian Zacky said ” After four generations and an enormous effort to keep the company in sync with the fast pace of changing times, we no longer are able to keep up with business as usual. We have put our best foot forward but as we struggled in the current state of the industry conditions, it has been impossible for us to continue profitably”.
Attachments area