Edison Price Agrees to Sell Business
If no higher bidders emerge in the coming weeks and the court approves the transaction, Edison Price Lighting will likely become part of GE Current.
Here's a sneak peak at a deal that is not yet finalized:
In May 2020, Edison Price Lighting of Queens, NY filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. In recent days, the company has entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement with Ohio-based GE Current. Purchase price: $1.11 million. Yes, $1.11 million.
The proposed sale also involves GE Current assuming specific debts of Edison Price Lighting. The purchase agreement obtained by inside.lighting did not contain Schedule 4.6, thus we are unable to provide more detail of the assigned debt.
When Edison Price Lighting filed for bankruptcy in May, the company cited approximately $8.5 million in liabilities. Creditors include the IRS ($1.4M), Elite Lighting ($300K) and 42 lighting agents. The 68-year-old specification downlight and track lighting company had 2018 sales of $17.3 million, and 2019 sales of $12 million.
In mid-2019, Edison Price engaged with a broker to identify potential purchasers. The company executed confidentiality agreements and conducted due diligence with 15 interested parties. As a result, the company received three offers to purchase the company.
Due to the ongoing bankruptcy proceedings, there are two caveats that could cause the potential GE Current acquisition to go in a different direction:
- A bankruptcy auction may occur -- possibly attracting higher bidders. The timing window is short, so bids and due diligence would need to occur over a matter of weeks. If GE Current is outbid, the higher bidder will be in the driver’s seat to acquire the assets of Edison Price.
- The sale would need to be approved by United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. If approved, the transaction could be closed by month’s end.
The assets that would transfer to GE Current include equipment, raw materials, finished goods, trade names, corporate names, product or brand names, service marks, patents, copyrights, logos, URLs, domain names, etc. This is still not a done deal, but it seems likely that Edison Price Lighting's main assets will be sold in the coming weeks to GE Current or another bidder.
Our Sunday messages to GE Current executives were not returned before press time. In a statement to inside.lighting over the weekend, Edison Price Lighting President, Emma Price, shared the following:
“We have now been in Chapter 11 for five months and have gotten stronger with each passing month. We have re-hired half our employees, have enjoyed fantastic support from the lighting community and are shipping our products. We expect to be out of Chapter 11 by the end of October.”
Emma Price, President, Edison Price Lighting
Summary of Proposed Sale as stated by EPL
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