(THE PAPER OF WABASH) The parent company of the iconic Indiana Beach has announced today they will be filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Apex Parks Group on February 18, 2020 disclosed they were permanently closing the ninety-four year old amusement park in Monticello, IN.
This bankruptcy filing comes only nine days after White County officials approved a $3 million financial incentive package for a prospective buyer of Indiana Beach.
How will this Chapter 11 filing of the Indiana Beach parent company affect a possible sale of the park? That’s the $64,000 question. Apex Parks Group asked for the incentive package to help secure possible buyers for the beloved Indiana Beach. Once Apex announced the closing of Indiana Beach they mentioned Apex would be working with White County officials to find a buyer.
The revolving fund allows the County to loan money from the Economic Development Fund to any borrower. The loan funds have to be use for economic development within the County by the borrower. The loan could be forgiven if authorized by County officials.
The revolving fund will be funded by the Indiana Wind Farm Economic Development Fund. The initial deposit will be $3 million.
If a qualified buyer does come forth there will be another special joint meeting. At that meeting the County will approve the funds to be transferred to the buyer. Then all the documents will be public record and the name of the buyer will be announced.
Here’s what we know so far:
•February 18th, Apex Parks Group announced Indiana Beach would be closed along with three other Apex properties. The closings were reportedly due to financial reasons.
•February 24th, a joint press was release from White County government leaders stated that they would be working together with Apex to find options for the park
•February 24th, Fun Spot America releases a statement that they are not interested in pursuing an acquisition of Indiana Beach.
•March 7th, Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch meets with local government officials.
•March 11th, Indiana Secretary of State approves Indiana Beach Holdings, LLC certificate of organization to operate within the State of Indiana.
•March 12th, White County Commissioners, County Council members; Monticello Mayor Cathy Gross; George Loy, White County lawyer; Rich Hall, Indianapolis lawyer; Randy Mitchell, Economic Development President and others met in an executive session at the courthouse for the following purpose; For interviews and negotiations with industrial or commercial prospects or agents of industrial or commercial prospects.
•March 13th, Another executive session was announced for March 17th in the Commissioner’s meeting room at 5:30 PM. Topic of discussion is listed as; For interviews and negotiations with industrial or commercial prospects or agents of industrial or commercial prospects.
•March 13th, a special meeting is announced for March 17th
at 6:30 PM in the Commissioner’s meeting room involving the Board of White County Commissioners and County Council. The listed agenda is: Consideration of financial incentives for a qualified buyer of Indiana Beach Amusement and Water Park Resorts.
•March 17th, In a joint meeting with White County Commissioners and County Council approve $3 million incentive package for a qualified buyer of Indiana Beach.
•March 27th, Joint executive session and meeting with Commissioners and County Council scheduled for March 31st. The listed agenda for the meeting: Consideration of Indiana Beach Economic Development Financing Documents.
•March 31st, White County Council approves a revolving fund to allow for a $3M incentive package for a qualified buyer of Indiana Beach.
•April 9th, Apex Parks Group files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
FROM APEX PARKS GROUP WEBSITE:
Apex Parks Group Announces Financial Restructuring; Company To Enter Into Stalking Horse Purchase Agreement and Files for Chapter 11 to Effectuate Sale
Irvine, CA – April 8, 2020 – Apex Parks Group, LLC (“Apex” or “Company”), today announced that it is pursuing a comprehensive financial restructuring aimed at reducing the Company’s current debt and, ultimately, enhancing operations to continue to serve guests and communities for years to come. As part of this process, Apex expects to enter into a stalking horse purchase agreement (“Agreement”) with the Company’s prepetition secured lenders (“Lenders”) to sell substantially all of the Company’s assets and operations and has filed for Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code in the District of Delaware to facilitate the sale. The Lenders will also provide financing to support the Company during the restructuring.
“The actions we are taking today will help better position the Company for the future and enable us to continue serving our guests, team members and other business partners in the years ahead,” said John Fitzgerald, Apex CEO. “Apex has faced a number of challenges in recent years, including increased industry competition and consolidation, extensive operational expenditures and the seasonal nature of the business. To address these challenges, we have implemented numerous operational initiatives to increase profitability; however, despite these efforts and the hard work of our team members, continuing market headwinds and operational challenges have prevented us from meaningfully improving financial performance. After an exhaustive examination of all options, we’ve determined that a sale of the Company through the Chapter 11 process is the best path forward to enable Apex to focus on future operational transformation and growth.”
The Chapter 11 process will not affect the operations of Apex’s 10 family entertainment centers and two water parks in California, Florida, and New Jersey. The Company has temporarily closed all locations in accordance with federal and local government mandates and CDC guidelines to proactively protect guests and employees in response to the COVID-19 pandemic but expects to return to operating in the ordinary course upon reopening of the locations.
Upon resumption of regular business operations, the Company intends to:
Honor customer programs such as Season Passes and gift cards at its operating parks
Pay employee wages and benefits in the ordinary course of business
Pay vendors and suppliers in a timely fashion
“We look forward to reopening the parks so that we can continue to provide exceptional and memorable guest experiences for our communities,” Fitzgerald added. “I also want to extend our deepest gratitude to our team members. We recognize this is a challenging time on numerous fronts and look forward to us all returning to work.”
The Company will file various first-day motions along with the sale motion and stalking horse purchase agreement in the coming days. To ensure maximum recovery for all stakeholders, the stalking horse bid provides a baseline bid against which the Company will seek higher or otherwise better offers.
Court filings, as well as other information related to the restructuring, are available at http://www.kccllc.net/apex, or by calling (866) 967-1781 (US/Canada Toll Free Number) or (310) 751-2681 (International Toll Number).
Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones LLP is serving as legal advisor to the Company and Scott Avila of Paladin Management Group is serving as Chief Restructuring Officer.
