Bankrupt peach company Prima Wawona is being liquidated after not receiving a high enough value through the auction process. The company is selling off major farming assets and letting go of its entire workforce.
The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last October, just four years after acquiring Gerawan Packing to become the nation’s largest peach farmer. It received a $275 million credit bid last month but did not move forward with it. After announcing plans to liquidate, the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors that was appointed in the case filed an objection to the plan, arguing in part that the liquidation would benefit company insiders.
Auction process
A lawyer for the Prima Wawona lenders told the bankruptcy court that the company went through an auction process but did not receive a bid that the company had targeted. That forced the lenders to conclude that the liquidation value of the company exceeds its going value, leading to the move to liquidate. Employees have been given 60-day notices of termination.
Prima Wawona has nearly 13,500 acres of land to liquidate., according to a presentation put together by Pearson Realty on behalf of lender Wawona Farm Co. LLC. The total price that was set for the land is $370 million.
Source: The San Joaquin Valley Sun