Thursday, June 11, 2009
Appco Sale Approved
Source: CSP Daily News
GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – Judge Marsha Parsons of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee yesterday gave final approval for the prompt sale of the assets of Appalachian Oil Co. Inc. (Appco), Blountsville, Tenn., a company in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. The action designates NRC Realty Advisors LLC as the agent to execute the sale of 47 gas stations and c-stores operated by Appco in northeastern Tennessee, southwestern Virginia and eastern Kentucky.
The court also approved yesterday the sale procedures and NRC's accelerated sales schedule. "We feel confident that we have a strong and viable business for sale, and we've had a tremendous amount of interest and unsolicited calls both to me and to NRC asking, 'When is the company going to be officially for sale?'," NRC's Andy Weber, the court-appointed chief restructuring officer for the sites, told CSP Daily News in mid-May.
Weber is responsible for all operational and financial matters of the company, as well as all efforts to market and sell the company's assets, part of a broader agreement between Appalachian Oil and its creditors, including principal secured creditor Greystone Business Credit II LLC, New York, to facilitate a sale of the company and its assets.
Weber added, "The chain itself in its geography lends itself to three distinct regions. One is Kentucky, another is southwest Virginia, and the third in northeastern Tennessee. There are a lot of regional operators in those markets that may simply be interested in their region. We have the ability and we will certainly consider somebody who wants to take the entire chain, as well."
Weber said that the chain has "shed a few stores" as part of court dealings with landlords. "At one point, they had 60-plus and now we're down to 50 [now 47]," he said at the time. "But that's a good group of stores that are all profitable, and yes, they're back in stock and servicing the customers." Many of the stores closed their doors for several weeks when financial issue made maintaining supply both in the stores and at the pumps a problem.
Appco filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Feb. 9, 2009, 17 months after being purchased by Dallas-based Titan Global Holdings Inc. in September 2007.
"Titan worked to ensure the best possible outcome at this stage. Unfortunately, Greystone's subprime hedge fund practices have put the company in this position. Titan will continue to review its options and work in the best interests of the employees an
To see a list of convenience stores for sale and gas stations for sale, click here.