As Federal Regulatory Receiver, Stapleton Group transformed an insolvent business to cash flow positive through capital improvements, operational improvements and creditor negotiations. Stapleton helped sell the company as a going concern to salvage a return for its defrauded investors.
Stapleton quickly facilitated a 70% recovery for a bank after its borrower, an auto dealership in Northern California, defaulted on its floorplan loan. Recovery was complicated by a convoluted process of receivership and bankruptcy filings, during which time the assets (new vehicles) continued to depreciate.
Stapleton Group determined a 75-year old family-owned business could not survive until its clients recovered, but would have value to a strategic buyer. The company’s owners agreed with our conclusion and the business was sold, generating sufficient proceeds to pay the bank in full as well as provide an equity return to the owners.
A manufacturer had defaulted on its loan covenants and its lender wanted out of the credit. Stapleton built a realistic cash flow projections and aggressively managed the company’s accounting team to reduce costs, leading to improved cash flow and a successful refinancing.
In a situation that could have been a complete write-off, recovered approximately $3 million for the lender by restructuring an onerous government liability from $17 million to less than $1 million, transitioning the shuttered business to a going concern and selling it to a strategic buyer.
Private investors loaned $35MM to a landlord for real estate investments, then the landlord defaulted. Stapleton overcame contentious litigation to unwind the $75MM empire, recovering 67% for investors.
The bank didn’t want to foreclose on a property with environmental liabilities. Stapleton resolved the issues while operating the income property then sold it, achieving 100% recovery for the bank.
Successfully recovered $12 million in debt in a tenuous, cross-border situation involving a 20-year old furniture manufacturer. Led complex negotiations with a Mexican labor union and Mexican tax authority to cleanse title on assets. Aggressively managed vacant buildings in Mexico while coordinated the sale of real property and the liquidation of inventory located in the U.S. and Mexico.
After a complaint was filed by the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) against an investment fund alleging securities fraud and orchestration of a Ponzi scheme by the key principals of the investment manager, Stapleton located, managed and sold assets to achieve a recovery for the investors. Our process involved an elaborate forensic accounting of the sources and uses of investor contributions. Our conclusions aided the SEC in securing a Motion for Summary Judgment against the defendant and individuals involved with orchestrating the Ponzi scheme.
Successfully sold a custom cabinetry manufacturer suffering chronic cash flow problems and near bankruptcy to a strategic buyer in an Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors (ABC). Paid secured creditors in full with the proceeds, and administered a claims process for unsecured creditors that returned approximately 5% of accounts payable on a pro-rata basis.
After a home builder was unable to complete three large track home developments in Arizona due to insufficient capital and a weak market, successfully finished construction and sold the homes in 8 months, generating proceeds exceeding the lender’s expectations. Many of the homes sold for more than appraised value, despite a weak market. The lender avoided negative press that would have resulted from a foreclosure.
Achieved a recovery for investors in a real estate investment fund by unraveling a tangled web of investor contributions, investments in real properties and underlying documentation and completing construction of a 9-home subdivision in the San Francisco Bay Area. Enforced investors’ loan positions through negotiations and litigation through conclusion.
