Real Estate & Business Receivership
Operating Dairy and Associated Businesses
The Bottom Line:
Achieved a 100% payoff for the bank through the successful receivership of a large dairy business. Stapleton Group served as interim CEO/CFO of the dairy operation while simultaneously selling its farms, animals and transport assets in a timely manner. The complex process involved significant coordination between stock yards, auctions yards, ranch hands, long haul trucking, buyers, brokers, defendant’s accounting team, dairy cooperatives, veterinarians and feed suppliers.
The Business Issue:
A $75 million dairy business operating multiple farms with approximately 20,000 head of cattle had dragged its bank through a long Chapter 11 Bankruptcy as it attempted to reorganize. The business had failed to liquidate assets pursuant to the Bankruptcy Court’s ruling. The bank eventually moved for relief from stay to appoint a receiver to take control of the operations and complete a liquidation.
Genesis of Stapleton’s Engagement:
The bank appointed Stapleton Group as receiver to bring a close to the bankruptcy.
Obstacles and Stapleton’s Solutions:
- The large business included operating dairies, farms and a transportation company.
- Stapleton took control of operations as Interim CEO/CFO and identified and implemented management strategies.
- Stapleton immediately identified all assets, consisting of dairy cows, dairy barns, dairy and crop land, key personnel, animal feed, milk pool quota, dairy cooperative retainers, and numerous farming and transport vehicles.
- Stapleton ensured the dairy cows’ health, carefully managing cash flow to ensure feed suppliers and other key vendors were paid.
- A pre-existing process to sell the dairies and farm had been implemented by the business’s management.
- Stapleton was required to assume the leadership of the pre-existing sale process. We worked extensively with the broker and buyer, managing operational requirements and court approvals to assure the property sales would close.
- Assets needed to be liquidated to generate the highest proceeds possible.
- Stapleton negotiated and audited the sale of cows, facilitated by a local stock yard, to assure all proceeds were delivered to the receiver and, ultimately, to the bank.
- Stapleton assembled the assets of the defendant’s transportation company and coordinated the commercial auction of vehicles through a local auction yard and a direct sale of tractor trailers purchaser.
- Stapleton coordinated the sale of all excess feed.
- The business’s milk pool quota needed to be fulfilled.
- Stapleton managed the sale of all milk pool quota and worked with dairy co-ops to assure the return of all money owed to the respective dairies.
- Stapleton worked with certain milk purchasers to ensure milk proceeds belonging to the receivership were delivered to receiver and, ultimately, to the bank.