A new twist in the Evergreen Story...

[Warbirdnerd]

If I am reading this correctly, there may be a Curtis Falcon available after the dust settles:

Evergreen Vintage Aircraft, the company that last month sought protection in federal bankruptcy court, owes an estimated $131.8 million to Evergreen International Aviation, Evergreen Holdings and the Estate of Delford M. Smith. Its assets include 16 vintage aircraft and the land on which the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum sits.

The new disclosures appear in a Friday filing in which Evergreen Vintage sought the bankruptcy court's permission to retain a legal firm.

Read Friday's filing: Evergreen Vintage statement.pdf

Evergreen Vintage is separate from the non-profit Evergreen Aviation Museum. But some of its aircraft are on loan to the museum. And Friday's filing shows its finances are interwoven with those of Evergreen International Aviation, the for-profit aviation firm that went out of business at the end of 2013, and those of Delford Smith, who founded both the companies and the affiliated non-profit museum. Smith died in November.

In its filing, Evergreen Vintage said:
•It had received "multiple loans and advances" between 2005 and 2014, apparently from Delford Smith. "After applying all credits and offsets, the Debtor believes the amount owed to the Estate of Delford M. Smith is approximately $74,933,041."
•It had received "multiple loans" from Evergreen Holdings beginning in 2005. Evergreen Vintage "believes the amount owed to Evergreen Holdings Inc. is approximately $52,023,424.84."
•It had received "multiple loans and advances" from Evergreen International Aviation beginning in 2005. Evergreen Vintage "believes the amount owed to Evergreen International Aviation is approximately $4,955,786.30."

Evergreen International Aviation is among the affiliated companies that filed for dissolution in Delaware on Dec. 31, 2013. Evergreen Holdings, according to the filing is the 100 percent owner of Evergreen Vintage. The Delford M. Smith Revocable Trust and the Delford M. Smith Estate are among five "indirect owners" listed in the filing.

Evergreen Vintage also granted a security interest in 15 of its aircraft, including a Boeing Flying Fortress, a Curtis-Wright Falcon and a Piper Cub, to Umpqua Bank in exchange for an amendments to loan documents and a forbearance agreement, according to Friday's filing.

Kevin Mannix, a Salem lawyer who represents the museum, said last month the museum is operating on a sustainable basis. He said the museum's board was surprised by Evergreen Vintage's bankruptcy filing.

-Mike Francis

Found it here:
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/inde ... _owes.html

[TAdan]

Looks like alot has happened since January. Here is a more recent article.

http://www.pamplinmedia.com/nbg/142-new ... opposition

Despite what could have been a final settlement meeting last week, the Evergreen Vintage Aircraft bankruptcy saga continues, with finalization of that settlement delayed pending another evidentiary hearing scheduled for Thursday.

The settlement in question would see planes, buildings and land owned by EVA sold off to the tune of $22 million and would represent a brighter future for the Evergreen Air and Space Museum than other deals formerly in the works, such as the attempted December 2014 sale of planes to Erickson Aviation that would have likely seen them removed from the premises.

The new buyers, who for some time were unidentified in court documents, have now partially been named.FILE PHOTO - Deal delayed - A settlement for the Evergreen Vintage Aircraft bankruptcy case that would sell the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum building, property and some of its planes for $22 million has been delayed following an objection by one of the secured creditors in the case.



The Collings Foundation, based outside of Boston, and unnamed associates have put up the offer for $22 million. While a few of the planes would be transported back east, most of them would remain onsite and the museum would also receive a new lease to remain intact.

However, the case is far from closed.

In the days leading up to the May 19 hearing the court received several objections to the global settlement, one from Yamhill County — which only objects to the sale if it does not include a requirement that back-taxes be paid — and the other from creditor World Fuel Services Inc.

Subsequent court documents indicate Yamhill County will receive the full $475,000 it is owed in taxes. The World Fuel objection, though, is a little trickier.

World Fuel is owed roughly $11 million, a debt that stems from EVA’s parent company, Evergreen International Airlines, to which World Fuel had provided fuel and services prior to that company’s bankruptcy.

In order to ensure repayment of EIA’s debt, EVA had provided collateral effectively turning World Fuel into a secured creditor.

But in 2013 World Fuel filed a lawsuit claiming both that EIA had failed to make payments and that subsequently EVA had not made good on its guarantee. The result of that suit was the court issuing a “writ of attachment” that allowed World Fuel to place liens on property owned by EVA.

The following year, World Fuel did just that. A representative from the Yamhill County Sheriff’s Office came to the museum in November and placed liens on EVA property, including a number of planes.

On the day of the hearing last week EVA filed a lawsuit against World Fuel seeking to reverse the writ of attachment it was granted on property owned by EVA.

World Fuel’s objection to the settlement addresses what it describes as a potential overreach in allowing property it holds interest in to be sold.

“World Fuel understands it cannot prevent debtor from entering into a reasonable settlement that is shown to be in the best interest of the bankrupt estate and its creditors,” World Fuel attorney James Laurick said in court filings. “However … debtor’s proposed settlement asks that this court reach beyond property owned or controlled by the bankrupt estate, and affect World Fuel’s and other parties’ interests in that non-estate property.”

Besides the issue of its liens against EVA property, World Fuel is also not pleased with the amount it would receive from the settlement. While the company maintains it is owed more than $11 million, the settlement allots a maximum payout to World Fuel of $1.5 million.

EVA has indicated that WFS is the only large-scale creditor who has not agreed to the settlement terms, which were drafted during three mediation sessions in March and April.

A pre-trial hearing for EVA’s lawsuit against World Fuel is set for July 7. In the meantime, the final evidentiary hearing for the global settlement will be held Thursday.

[JohnB]

It would be chance for Collings' to establish a "brick" museum to go along with their various programs. Too bad it's on the wrong side of the country from their existing base.

Or it could also be a chance for them to pick what they want/need from the collection and sell off the rest. The worse case scenario is they cherry pick the good stuff and leave the Hughes flying boat and other non-valuable, non-fliers in the building...in other words the stuff that no one wants or can afford to move.

The one article reports that currently the museum is "sustainable"...which I take means it's covering its expenses with income.
Who knows, with a bit of imagination (new ways to draw people), it could possibly become a profit center for Collings and support their flying ops.

[mustangdriver]

Everything in their WWII Collection can be replaced by static non flyers that are owned by the NMUSAF. Sell off the ones that fly, secure the museum, replace them with statics.

[Pat Carry]

Everything in their WWII Collection can be replaced by static non flyers that are owned by the NMUSAF. Sell off the ones that fly, secure the museum, replace them with statics.

an excellent way to get more WW2 era planes under a roof! I like it.

[TAdan]

And another new update: http://www.oregonlive.com/business/inde ... green.html

A deal reached Thursday appears to plot a course out of the financial turbulence that's dogged the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville since last year.

Evergreen Vintage Aircraft, a for-profit company that owns the nonprofit museum's real estate and 25 of the planes displayed there, filed for bankruptcy last year, throwing the museum's future into question.

But the museum has worked out a deal to buy those assets in a partnership with The Collings Foundation, an aviation history nonprofit, and an individual named George Schott. A bankruptcy court judge approved the sale on Thursday, said Kevin Mannix, an attorney for the museum.

The $22 million purchase price would be used to pay off creditors and settle several pending local cases, including the bankruptcy. The museum would get a new 20-year lease on the buildings and 16 of the planes as part of the deal.

"In the end, this is a great deal on all sides," said Nicholas Henderson, a bankruptcy attorney representing Evergreen Vintage Aircraft said on Wednesday. "Everyone's working together to make sure the museum stays intact."

The deal won approval of most of the creditors. Most of the sale proceeds would go to Umpqua Bank, the largest of the creditors, which asserted it was owed $42 million. The other creditors will still need to sort out who gets what from the remaining $1.5 million.

One holdout creditor, World Fuel Services, claimed a lien on two of Evergreen Vintage Aircraft planes that would be sold, but Judge Randall Dunn approved the settlement over the company's objections.

The agreement also resolves complications involving the separate bankruptcy of Evergreen International Aviation, the Oregon airline that collapsed late in 2013.

The tangled finances of the museum and the air freight company threatened to drag the museum and some of its prized exhibits into the airline's liquidation — including the showpiece Spruce Goose. Howard Hughes' massive wooden plane could have been sold to satisfy creditors of the airline, but the settlement rules that out.

The flying boat remains tangled in a dispute with the Aero Club of Southern California, which sold the plane to the museum but says it's still owed a final payment.

-- Elliot Njus

Congratulations to the Collings Foundation on another huge museum deal!

[TXCOMT]

Good news, indeed, but too bad for the creditors!

Mike H.

[stryper]

Collings Foundation-West! I hope they keep, and return the flyable ones to the air. The Wings of Freedom tour could also incorporate more of their smaller planes, depending on which side of the country they are on.

[jspott]

From what I can make of the article collings is getting nine of the planes and the museum which is a separate nonprofit from evergreen(Del smith) is leasing the land/buildings. And was never for sale? So the big question is where the b-17 ends up, yagen?

[Lon Moer]

Evergreen Vintage Aircraft, a for-profit company that owns the nonprofit museum's real estate and 25 of the planes displayed there, filed for bankruptcy last year, throwing the museum's future into question.

But the museum has worked out a deal to buy those assets in a partnership with The Collings Foundation, an aviation history nonprofit, and an individual named George Schott. A bankruptcy court judge approved the sale on Thursday, said Kevin Mannix, an attorney for the museum.

The $22 million purchase price would be used to pay off creditors and settle several pending local cases, including the bankruptcy. The museum would get a new 20-year lease on the buildings and 16 of the planes as part of the deal.

"In the end, this is a great deal on all sides," said Nicholas Henderson, a bankruptcy attorney representing Evergreen Vintage Aircraft said on Wednesday. "Everyone's working together to make sure the museum stays intact."

The deal won approval of most of the creditors. Most of the sale proceeds would go to Umpqua Bank, the largest of the creditors, which asserted it was owed $42 million. The other creditors will still need to sort out who gets what from the remaining $1.5 million.

One holdout creditor, World Fuel Services, claimed a lien on two of Evergreen Vintage Aircraft planes that would be sold, but Judge Randall Dunn approved the settlement over the company's objections.

The agreement also resolves complications involving the separate bankruptcy of Evergreen International Aviation, the Oregon airline that collapsed late in 2013.

The tangled finances of the museum and the air freight company threatened to drag the museum and some of its prized exhibits into the airline's liquidation — including the showpiece Spruce Goose. Howard Hughes' massive wooden plane could have been sold to satisfy creditors of the airline, but the settlement rules that out.

The flying boat remains tangled in a dispute with the Aero Club of Southern California, which sold the plane to the museum but says it's still owed a final payment.

-- Elliot Njus

So, are the remaining 9 planes being sold ??

[dirtysidedown430]

There's an article on Warbird News bout Collings and Evergreen

[Flybipe]

Rumor around town is that 16 planes stay in the museum, the other 9 head east to Collings other base of operations with a return to airworthy operations...

At least that's the rumor....

[p51]

If their B-17 has to go, then so be it, I just hope it'll be flying somewhere else, that's all...

[Ethan]

So how do I acquire the Curtiss Falcon and return it to the air?

[wgrosz]

From June 3

While none of the parties are entirely pleased with settlement terms for the Evergreen Vintage Aircraft bankruptcy case, Umpqua Bank has reason to be the most satisfied after a hearing last week.

A settlement and sale of EVA’s assets was approved before the bankruptcy court, with the vast majority of the proceeds guaranteed to go to the bank and the recipients of the remaining funds still negotiating their cut.

One of those recipients is creditor World Fuel Services Inc., whose claim stems from a 2012 agreement by EVA to guarantee debt owed by parent company Evergreen International Airlines. At the time that debt totaled $7 million but has grown to more than $11 million. To ensure repayment EVA granted World Fuel security interest in two aircraft, a DeHavilland DH4M1 and a Douglas A-2B Invader.

The bankruptcy settlement dictates that the Invader will be handed over to World Fuel free and clear, as it has what is described in court filings as a “valid and unavoidable lien” on the plane.

But the settlement calls for the sale of the DeHavilland, the value of which EVA and World Fuel disagree on.

When World Fuel was granted security interest in the plane in 2012, the DeHavilland was appraised at $2 million in value. A more recent appraisal ordered by EVA, however, set the value at $700,000. World Fuel sought last week to prove the former value was still accurate and hoped to have the original appraiser at the hearing to testify, but that appraiser was unable to attend the hearing.

World Fuel asked to have the hearing postponed, but Judge Randall Dunn denied the request for several reasons, including that it was filed too late (just one day prior) and that, as Umpqua Bank attorney Joseph Sakay argued, any postponement is damaging in this case — a final evidentiary hearing for Umpqua Bank’s original December request for a relief from the stay put on foreclosure by EVA’s bankruptcy is still scheduled for June 11, and time is of the essence if the current settlement is to work out.

“Right now we are trying to set up escrow, we can’t set up escrow because of the delay,” he said.

But although Dunn denied the postponement that could have proven a higher appraisal value, he took the two appraisals of the DeHavilland and split the difference, giving the plane a court-recognized value of up to $1.35 million. This valuation, Dunn said, gives World Fuel the benefit of the doubt, as the $2 million appraised value is three years old and “market values change over time.”

In the proposed $22 million settlement, $1.5 million was set aside as a “holdback” that could go toward paying off various costs, including administrative expenses and other claims, including one by Yamhill County. That $1.5 million is also proposed to cover any payments to World Fuel for its DeHavilland, so the $1.35 million valuation has the advantage for the settlement of being within that maximum allotted amount.

However, raising the recognized value from $700,000 to up to $1.35 million presents a new potential problem. Yamhill County, which is owed nearly $500,000 by EVA for back taxes, has stated it does not object to the settlement as long as it is paid that amount in full, which is also proposed to come out of the holdback amount.

“When we do the math in terms of the $1.5 million (holdback), that will reduce the $1.5 million to something above $1 million,” said Justin Leonard, attorney for the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum.

So, with the raised potential value of the DeHavilland, a problem arises as there might not be enough to cover both World Fuel and the county’s claims, meaning the county could reopen its objection which was resolved at a hearing the prior week.

Dunn responded that some minor adjustments may need to be made to the county’s claim and that he was prepared to deal with that potential problem at a future date.

“The bank is gonna get its 20.5 million smackers on closing, and what happens to the rest, we’ll see,” Dunn said, adding that the bank is not just getting the most money randomly but because it had the largest claim, nearly $50 million, against EVA. “This hearing was never set up as a definitive valuation of the aircraft, it was set up for approval of the settlement.”

In light of Umpqua Bank’s former attempt to sell EVA’s planes for far less than the current proposed settlement amount, EVA attorney Nicholas Henderson stated that the debtor is satisfied with the current deal.

“Looking at the complex issues and the expense that would be attendant in resolving those issues, the debtor has determined that the current settlement and sale for $22 million to resolve over $200 million worth of claims is in the best interest of the debtor,” Henderson said, asking that the court approve the sale.

Dunn stated he is prepared to approve the settlement and sale as is now proposed. While the bank will get the $20.5 million, the finer details of the $1.5 million holdback will continue to be worked out.

Dunn stated that World Fuel could seek to get another appraisal of the aircraft to narrow the value down, provided it did so in a timely manner, and that the company might want to “else something highly unfortunate might happen to it.” Still, the $1.5 million holdback is set in stone following the settlement’s approval, meaning either World Fuel or Yamhill County will likely have to concede some amount from their claim.

Attorney James Laurick stated World Fuel will work up a new appraisal, which will be presented at a hearing on valuation of the DeHavilland scheduled for June 11. At that time the final hearing on Umpqua’s original request for relief from stay will also be held, which is all but dismissed given the court’s approval of the $22 million global settlement.

http://www.pamplinmedia.com/nbg/142-new ... t-approved