An important step in the Genmar bankruptcy proceedings occurred yesterday when Genmar formally petitioned the court to allow it to continue the payment and award of Ranger Cup bonuses, prize boats and branded sportswear.
In simple terms, Genmar must convince the court – or more specifically, Genmar's creditors – that it's in the best interest of all involved to allow Ranger to continue its successful marketing and tournament-contingency programs. But nothing's a guarantee. For example, the Unsecured Creditors' Committee recently filed an objection to another Genmar motion in which Genmar asked to continue its retention-bonus program for managers.
In the Ranger motion, Genmar requested permission to "continue the promotional programs for Ranger Boats and pay certain prepetition promotional expenses for promotions of Ranger Boats." More specifically, the motion names promotional activities such as "an annual conference in July of each year for dealers; providing gift certificates for branded sportswear and fishing equipment to purchasers of Ranger boats; sponsoring the Bass Federation and running a federation program called the Ranger Team Federation Program, wherein various Ranger Teams compete; sponsoring professional fishermen and women in tournaments; sponsoring fishing tournaments, including FLW tournaments, by providing boats and cash prizes; providing tournament service support; and other similar types of activities."
Such programs, Genmar noted, have helped Ranger claim the highest market share in its segment.
The motion also notes that within the named programs, several promotional certificates and/or monies remain unredeemed or unpaid – specifically, $140,000 in sportswear certificates, $95,000 in Ranger Cup awards, $26,185 in angler sponsorship agreements and approximately $500,000 in prize boats. What isn't clear in the motion is whether the $500,000 is in reference to actual prize-boat certificates, or the $500,000 Ranger bonus potentially awarded at the Forrest Wood Cup.
The motion states that Genmar has sufficient monies at present to pay all outstanding promotional claims.
A hearing on the motion is set for next Monday, July 6. However, unless a timely objection is filed, the court may rule on the motion without a hearing.
