Contessa assets sold for USD 21m
Embattled frozen foods producer, Contessa Premium Foods, entered the liquidation process on 30 April…Embattled frozen foods producer, Contessa Premium Foods, entered the liquidation process on 30 April, to be managed by financial advisory company Development Specialists (DSI).
The company announced on Wednesday that its assets were acquired for more than USD 21 million (EUR 15.5 million), the net proceeds of which will be paid to the creditors.
DSI began marketing the property immediately so as to preserve the value of the brands and to mitigate any disruption to the customers that the shutdown might cause.
Over the last 23 days, DSI put together diligence material and has been in contact with 32 parties interested in purchasing some or all of the assets of Contessa. DSI has conducted 16 on-site tours and spoke with dozens of customers, suppliers and licensors regarding the process and sale.
Dirk Leuenberger, President of O.F.I. Imports (an affiliated of Aqua Star) — the acquirer of the Contessa Brand names and most of the related assets — said that operations will resume immediately at the Contessa plant in Commerce, California.
Steven Victor, a senior consultant from DSI was pleased with the high level of interest in the assets and that were negotiated a fair price for the assets.
“We worked a lot of hours and weekends to get this deal done,” said Victor.
Contessa originally filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January 2011 and was acquired by Sun Capital Partners in July 2011.
