The U.S. Bankruptcy Court of Minnesota today granted Genmar its motion to enter into a period of exclusivity with a potential stalking horse for sale of the company's assets.
Identity of the stalking horse has not been disclosed, but given what Genmar chairman Irwin Jacobs told media over the previous 2 days – that he'll own Genmar by week's end – there's every reason to believe he or a close associate is indeed the stalking horse.
What the period of exclusivity means is that from this point forward, until the period ends, Genmar may only negotiate a sale with the stalking horse. However, if it turns out the stalking horse is not Jacobs, the motion does include language that allows Jacobs to match or better the stalking-horse bid.
Still unclear is whether the stalking horse would purchase Genmar in whole or in part.
And the court order made no mention of Textron's objection, which sought more transparency in the proceedings, so the objection assumingly was overruled.
Genmar is a public company and Jacobs currently owns 40% of its stock. He's able to purchase the company out of bankruptcy as a private citizen.
