Agriprocessors Leading Bidder Delaware Corp Formed Last Week

Delaware corporation formed Tuesday, March 17, 2009.

No news from the Agriprocessors bankruptcy auction could be bad news for Postville
By Lynda Waddington, Iowa Independent

When the beleaguered Agriprocessors meatpacking plant first filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, a small glimmer of hope emerged in Postville. There was an opportunity for another company to take over operations at the plant, for production to continue and for the community not to lose its largest employer.

Although the final gavel was not swung today in Cedar Rapids at the bankruptcy auction, it is becoming much more likely that no agreeable buyer will emerge.

Natural Source Holdings L.L.C., a company that doesn’t garner a single Internet search engine entry, provided what the bankruptcy trustee deemed the best and highest bid: $5.5 million.

Other bidders were Kosher Standards LLC, T5 Equity Partners LLC and Private Equity Ventures LLC (an affiliate of T5).

Despite several breaks in the actual court proceedings designed to allow the bidders time to discuss their initial bids, inclusion of assets and other considerations, no stalking horse emerged.

Roughly four hours after the auction began, two creditors placed their own bids in an attempt to reclaim their own collateral.

First Bank Business Capital, Inc., a company allegedly owed $35 million in revolving loans, bid $20 million for all of it on pre-petitioned debt, all its own pre-petitioned collateral and all like-kind post-petition collateral.

MLIC Asset Holdings LLC, doing business as MetLife Ag Investments, bid $6.5 million. The bid would cover $9.6 million in debt for real estate subject to mortgage. Counsel for the company also made clear that the bid would cover “equipment and all other assets as described in the mortgage agreement.”

Although the auction proceedings will commence again at 9 a.m. on Tuesday morning, it is unlikely that a third-party bidder will materialize. Without such a bidder, it is extremely unlikely that the bankruptcy trustee or the court will allow a sale for such a meager amount. The two most likely options are that the judge will either order the trustees to attempt another Chapter 11 sale, or the case will move into Chapter 7 liquidation proceedings.

Both of the other bidders have Rubashkin ties.

As I exclusively reported during today's auction, Kosher Standards LLC, appears to be a Rubashkin front traceable directly to Crown Heights and to a business linked to other Rubashkin foibles.

T5 Equity Partners is controlled by the Ghermazian brothers, the owners of Mall of America and other large properties worldwide. The Ghermazians are Orthodox Jews from Iran who now live in Canada. They have some ties to Chabad and have an associate who has done retail kosher meat business for them who is close to the Rubashkins. The T5 bid might be tzedaka, charity, rather than a true business investment.

FGBA notes on the previous post:

What is the Liberia of corporations? Delaware. Hopped over to the Delaware Secretary of State's website and did a search for Natural Source Holdings, LLC. Incorporated March 17th, 2009. Unfortunately, you have to pay to get more info from Delaware's Secretary of State. Registered agent is Incorporating Services, Limited, Dover, DE.

The indicates that not one food processor (unless NSH is a front for a famous firm) in the entire free world put in a bid for Agriprocessors. Either no one has any money to invest right now, or the people who really know how to run a slaughterhouse walked away from this one. Of course, they may figure they are better off cherry picking at a Chapter 7 liquidation.…

What happened to Soglowek and its $40 million dollar bid?

I'd guess Soglowek was used as a false stalking horse to discourage real bidders and thereby leave room for a low priced Rubashkin-controlled bid to win.

It may also have been used in the same way by the trustee to make it appear as if he had real bidders when he did not.

Time will tell.

Previous Post.

Comments

[stm3726]

shmaria,
your information is so remarkably pathetic and wrong, it's not even funny... u pretend to be this investigative journalist with "deep" insights and pompous thoughts, but u're just a guy with too much time on his hands who hates rubashkins & co. but otherwise has absolutely no substance...

[Hometown Postville]

Too bad Postville doesn't have enough resources to put in their own $5mil bid, then they could run their own show and this drama would be over! But if the owners of Mall of America want it, the only bidder big enough to challenge them would be Walmart! LOL!

[Harold]

Shmaria's hatred for Crown Heights and Chabad is blinding and all-consuming.

[original Postville resident]

The registered agent for Natural Source Holdings is Incorporating Services LTD in Delaware. I spent my money to see more info about NSH and that was a waste, it didn't tell any owners, etc. Just the registered agent which was formed in 1972. Anybody know anything about them?

[sage]

It seems to be basically all over.

There are two likely outcomes:

1. Agri will go into Chapter 7 Liquidation.

2. The $20 Million bid by First Bank Capital will be accepted, after which they will do with it as they see fit.

End game:

1. No future in Postville for the Rubashkin Jews; time to sell your homes and get the h-ll out of town. You are permanently persona non-grata.

2. Postville and its Citizens; a city in Kansas attracted a wind farm business which made the follwing deal - we will build a massive wind farm in your town and provide all of the town's power for free in exchange for selloing the excess back to the power grid for profit. A win-win situation foa all.

[Max]

Great coverage!
Keep it up!!!

[state of disgust]

If Natural Source Holdings bid was $5.5M, what was the amount of T5's bid?

Looks like Chapter 7. That's when any real buyer will come out - if there is one. That is the equipment suppliers best bet to find someone to take over the leases - but it will have to be a very sweet deal to get anyone with meatpacking experience to take an interest.

[Curious Postville Native]

[No future in Postville for the Rubashkin Jews; time to sell your homes and get the h-ll out of town.]

It is likely, the generations of pre-Rubashkin Postville residents, will be the ones 'shaking the dust from their feet' this round.

[Curious Postville Native]

SOD-

If the price is right, Tyson might purchase the plant to process a specialty line (kosher).

[yabed]

Why would tyson do it? To gain market share?

Hebrew National bought Falls Poultry and trid to make it into a competition for Empire. It didn't work. No one trusted Hebrew National in the meat business or in the chicken business.

[state of the Jews]

Tyson and Purdue looked at the kosher market and decided to take a pass. The largest share of Hebrew National's market are non-Jewish purchasers. Empire has a pretty solid lock on the kosher poultry market with the next largest producer being Vineland.
The only way for Postville to survive is as a producer of specialty items that command a premium price in the marketplace. It is too small a plant and inefficient for anything else. That's why the Rubashkin's were able to buy it in the first place - no one wanted it.

[original Postville resident]

Supposedly, T5's bid was $5.1 million

[Hashem]

If the plant is sold off and there is no longer any kosher beef coming out, it would be nice if not one single person agreed to purchase any realestate from chabad people or any other orthodox jews in Postville. these people ruined the town now let them sit there

[yidandahalf]

Wait and see the days of slaughter in that hellhole are over. Times are changing. Wind farms and renewable energy are HIGHLY profitable and meat gluttony is on the wane. If people cannot see this now, they will soon enough. All the yidden hangers on in various stages of decrepit mental states should clear out. I have never seen such hopeful assholes, hoping and waiting for what?

[sage]

+++ If the plant is sold off and there is no longer any kosher beef coming out, it would be nice if not one single person agreed to purchase any realestate from chabad people or any other orthodox jews in Postville. these people ruined the town now let them sit there

Posted by: Hashem | March 24, 2009 at 09:43 AM +++

Maybe a better plan would be:

1. Postville passes a City Ordinance declaring all Rubashkin Jews persona non-grata and firmly asks them to leave town ASAP.

2. All Postville businesses refuse to trade with them.

3. Postville residents in need of good housing make rock-bottom offers to buy their nice homes.

4. Evidence that SMR has violated his bail agreement presented to Judge Reade, who promptly puts his ass back in jail, for good.

Result: RCF and its supporters are gone from Postville for good, never to return.

[yidandahalf]

They should be put in their Weinberg Pen and that in turn should be put on the back of a livestock trailer. Then they will re-enter their Promised Land of Brooklyn in high style.

[sage]

And the pen should be rotating, as they make the long ride back to Crown Heights.

[yidandahalf]

No Rubbishcan unturned. They can have all the hot dogs and Mountain Dew they want for the duration. A real party.