Wind Down Management
The Right Way to Plan for Discontinuing Operations
There are circumstances that make it impractical or impossible for a company to continue operations. A company may no longer have a sufficient core business or management who can carry the business forward. The company may also have lost its financing.
While it’s always our goal to develop and implement turnaround strategies that will return a company to prosperity, we also have the expertise to quickly identify situations that can no longer be turned around.
At such times, Centrus helps assist existing management maximize the value of the remaining assets of the company. This ensures that cash proceeds can be distributed in a way that is consistent with our client’s desires and compliant within appropriate legal guidelines.
Wind-down management can be a very complex process. Emotions run high on the part of the company, its creditors and often its customers. Legal issues abound, and attorneys are everywhere. Secured lenders are often severely ratcheting down cash availability. Key employees may be threatening to quit and the competition might be propagating rumors of the client’s demise. In family-owned businesses, such difficulties can threaten family relationships.
The critical component in successful wind-down management is effective and frequent communication with all parties concerned.
Services we typically provide during a wind-down process include:
- Maintain frequent communication with the company’s owners and its board.
- Maintain frequent communication with secured lenders
- Provide periodic communications with unsecured creditors
- Develop a wind-down strategy that maximizes the asset value; going concern sale, sale of individual business units, auction and bankruptcy
- Assess the impact upon any individuals of the company who have personal guarantees or indemnifications
- Serve as focal point of communication for all creditors, customers, vendors, public relations, employees, shareholders and other professionals
- Serve as Distribution Agent for cash proceeds
- Serve as Secured Party Sale Administrator for the secured lender
- Assume control of assets including decision on the sale of assets and collection of accounts receivable
- Serve as Trustee in Bankruptcy
- Serve as Receiver
- Conduct out-of-court, informal Chapter 11 wind-downs
- Tie up the operational and legal loose ends associated with a wind-down
