Hoboken Floors of Wayne, N.J., recently filed for Chapter 7
bankruptcy at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del. Unlike Chapter 11,
which would require that the company file a plan of reorganization, Chapter 7
indicates that Hoboken will liquidate all of its assets. The 77-year-old
company was until recently the top independent hard surface flooring
distributor in the country, with more than 20 branches and 600 employees at its
peak.
According
to documents filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Hoboken has listed assets
and debts of more than $100 million each. An official at Chicago-based
turnaround firm AEG partners said the decision to liquidate “was in the best
interest of creditors,” the Associated Press reported.
Jeoffrey L.
Burtch has been named the Chapter 7 trustee in the case. He will immediately
assume the reigns of the company and start the process of liquidation. The AP
reported that Hoboken has between 1,000 and 5,000 creditors.
Chicago
private equity firm Code Hennessy & Simmons, which purchased Hoboken two
years ago, owns an 80 percent stake in Hoboken parent company HWF Holdings.
Additionally, a New Jersey-based investment vehicle, Investment S Corp., has a
12 percent stake. The holding company and three affiliates tied to Hoboken
-- SPI Floors, Garden State Supplies
and WFA -- are also liquidating under Chapter 7, according to the AP.
An initial hearing for
creditors has been scheduled for Dec. 11.