Florida Sunshine Investments, the same company that recently bought Crescent Oil Co. of Independence, Kan., is nearing the final stages of acquiring Appco, the convenience store chain in eastern Tennessee, which filed for bankruptcy earlier this year.
NRC Realty & Capital Advisors LLC (NRC) is handling the Appco sale under direction of the bankruptcy court. Appco’s bankruptcy attorney, Mark Dessauer, filed a motion late Tuesday asking that the sale to Florida Sunshine Investments be approved. The motion called the offer of $6.25 million plus cost of inventory “the highest and best bid for the assets of (Appco).” Florida Sunshine Investments’ bid is subject to Judge Marsha Parsons’ approval.
Appco has asked that Parsons hear the motion to sell the company next Tuesday, Sept. 1. The deal would safeguard employees’ jobs at the 47 company-owned stores in the sale. Andy Weber, senior vice president at NRC, was appointed as Appco’s chief restructuring officer by the court on April 14 and charged with selling the company. He called the retention of the roughly 350 employees a big plus and a priority.
“Throughout the sale there have been multiple, week-to-week twists and turns. Drawing on NRC’s expertise in handling divestitures of distressed assets has allowed us to continue operations to reach a successful exit on behalf of the creditors,” Weber said in a press release.
Florida Sunshine Investments’ president, Bret Berlin told the press, “We’re in acquisition mode and looking to acquire other sites and other companies.”
Appco filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization on Feb. 9. On June 10, NRC was designated by the Bankruptcy Court as sales agent for the 47 operating gasoline stations and convenience stores. At that time, an accelerated sales process was approved with a bid deadline of July 9.
