Report: Gary Van Elslander bids on Art Van, the son of Art Van....
WILMINGTON, Del. — Gary Van Elslander has bid less than $1 million to buy the Art Van brand name and trademark of the bankrupt Top 100 company, according to a report by Crain’s Detroit.
The report attributed the information to multiple unnamed sources familiar with the situation. The deal would require approval in bankruptcy court here where the retailer filed for Chapter 11 protection March 8 and has since moved to liquidate all company-owned stores. Crain’s estimated private equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners paid about $550 million to acquire the retailer in 2017.
With the spread of the coronavirus and missteps in its liquidation efforts, Art Van has since shuttered its going-out-of-business sales and terminated the vast majority of its employees. Diane Charles, former vice president of corporate communications — reached by Furniture Today for confirmation on the latest reported developments — said her last day was March 27.
Gary Van Elslander, at Van Elslander Capital in Birmingham, Mich., could not be reached for comment early Monday.
Crain’s said the Van Elslander bid doesn’t include business assets, such as inventory. Art Van now leases most or all of its real estate, following sale-leaseback transactions THL conducted to pay for the business.
Separately, legal news source Law360 reported Art Van told the bankruptcy court judge last week that it is negotiating with creditors to “largely pause its Chapter 11 proceedings” to curb expenses during this time of coronavirus business disruption. Statewide closures of non-essential businesses have be ordered in Art Van’s home state of Michigan as well as in Pennsylvania and Ohio, where the retailer operates stores.
A pause in the bankruptcy would preserve options for the company, according to the report, including a possible revival of the plan to sell 44 Levin Furniture and Wolf Furniture stores to former CEO Robert Levin. That deal was announced just before Art Van filed for bankruptcy and subsequently fell through