Le-Nature's granted approval of exclusive agent for Latrobe property sale

By Caroline Salls

Pittsburgh, April 12 - Le-Nature's, Inc.'s Chapter 11 trustee obtained court approval to hire Gordon Brothers Industrial LLC and Harry Davis & Co. as the exclusive sales agent for the proposed sale of real estate and property related to the company's Latrobe, Pa., bottling operations and warehouse facilities, according to a Thursday filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.

According to the motion, the real estate and property will be sold through a turnkey or auction process.

The assets to be sold include owned and leased machinery and equipment at the Latrobe plant and the real estate and warehouse facilities used in the bottling operations.

Under the broker agreement, Gordon Brothers and Harry Davis will advance $8 million to the trustee, without interest, and the trustee will repay the advance from the first proceeds from the asset sale after payment of commissions and reimbursement of expenses.

In the motion, the trustee said the highest value of the assets will be obtained if they are sold together through a turnkey sale and there is an urgent need to sell the assets because of the cessation of the company's bottling operations.

If the turnkey sale cannot be completed, the trustee said the agreement allows for sale of the assets through an auction.

The trustee said the value of the assets will be higher to a turnkey buyer who can resume production for the summer months when the demand for bottled water and soft drinks is at its peak.

Le-Nature's, a Latrobe, Pa., manufacturer of flavored bottled water and other beverages, had an involuntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy case filed against it on Nov. 1. The case was converted to Chapter 11 on Nov. 3. The case number is 06-25454.

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