Dave Zaslow
07-05-2011, 01:37 PM
Posted: Thursday, June 30, 2011 10:35 pm
Deadline passes with one bid on bankrupt New Jersey Motorsports Park (http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/press/casinos_tourism/deadline-passes-with-one-bid-on-bankrupt-new-jersey-motorsports/www.pressofAtlanticCity.com/news/press/casinos_tourism/deadline-passes-with-one-bid-on-bankrupt-new-jersey-motorsports/article_07ac8066-a38f-11e0-a366-001cc4c002e0.html)
By DEREK HARPER Staff Writer pressofAtlanticCity.com
MILLVILLE — The New Jersey Motorsports Park will go to a bankruptcy auction Tuesday with only one confirmed bid, a $22.5 million stalking-horse offer by the park’s owner, NEI Motorsports LLC.
The deadline for other bids came and went at
4 p.m. Wednesday, track general manager Brad Scott said.
The auction will now proceed July 6, with the park scheduled to come out of bankruptcy July 14. Scott said there would be no visible changes should NEI win the auction, scheduled for 10 a.m. in bankruptcy court in Camden.
A separate group said it was still interested in speaking directly with Merrill Lynch Mortgage Capital of New York, the bank’s largest creditor, but was sitting out what Jack Gallagher Jr. called “an insider’s deal.”
Gallagher, of Monroeville, Upper Pittsgrove Township, Salem County, said his four-person group was offering $11.5 million cash, which he said is closer to what the track is actually worth because of the park’s debt structure.
He said the bank has not been receptive to their offer.
“They seem to be somewhat reluctant to face the realities of what they’ve got there, so I guess that they may have to suffer with this project a little longer,” he said.
The park filed for bankruptcy in March, less than three years after it opened. It owed its 20 largest creditors more than $33.1 million. A U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge approved a cash collateral plan, and two days later the park opened for its 2011 season. Even though operators always intended be out of bankruptcy protection in less than 160 days, the filing left doubts about the facility’s potential as the economic driver.
The park says the economic recession has hampered its residential and retail development.
Contact Derek Harper:
609-272-7046
[email protected] ([email protected])
Deadline passes with one bid on bankrupt New Jersey Motorsports Park (http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/press/casinos_tourism/deadline-passes-with-one-bid-on-bankrupt-new-jersey-motorsports/www.pressofAtlanticCity.com/news/press/casinos_tourism/deadline-passes-with-one-bid-on-bankrupt-new-jersey-motorsports/article_07ac8066-a38f-11e0-a366-001cc4c002e0.html)
By DEREK HARPER Staff Writer pressofAtlanticCity.com
MILLVILLE — The New Jersey Motorsports Park will go to a bankruptcy auction Tuesday with only one confirmed bid, a $22.5 million stalking-horse offer by the park’s owner, NEI Motorsports LLC.
The deadline for other bids came and went at
4 p.m. Wednesday, track general manager Brad Scott said.
The auction will now proceed July 6, with the park scheduled to come out of bankruptcy July 14. Scott said there would be no visible changes should NEI win the auction, scheduled for 10 a.m. in bankruptcy court in Camden.
A separate group said it was still interested in speaking directly with Merrill Lynch Mortgage Capital of New York, the bank’s largest creditor, but was sitting out what Jack Gallagher Jr. called “an insider’s deal.”
Gallagher, of Monroeville, Upper Pittsgrove Township, Salem County, said his four-person group was offering $11.5 million cash, which he said is closer to what the track is actually worth because of the park’s debt structure.
He said the bank has not been receptive to their offer.
“They seem to be somewhat reluctant to face the realities of what they’ve got there, so I guess that they may have to suffer with this project a little longer,” he said.
The park filed for bankruptcy in March, less than three years after it opened. It owed its 20 largest creditors more than $33.1 million. A U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge approved a cash collateral plan, and two days later the park opened for its 2011 season. Even though operators always intended be out of bankruptcy protection in less than 160 days, the filing left doubts about the facility’s potential as the economic driver.
The park says the economic recession has hampered its residential and retail development.
Contact Derek Harper:
609-272-7046
[email protected] ([email protected])