Role: Exclusive Agent of Seller
Seller: Gerard A. McHale as Chapter 11 Trustee for The Madonia Group
Buyer: Fresh Del Monte Produce and numerous other individuals and entities
Client:
East Coast Brokers and Packers, Inc., Circle M Ranch, Inc., Batista J. Madonia, Sr., Evelyn M. Madonia, Ruskin Vegetable Corporation, Oakwood Place, Inc., Byrd Foods of Virginia, Inc., Stellaro Bay, Inc. and Eastern Shore Properties, Inc. (collectively, the “Madonia Group”) is a produce growing and packing operation owned by the Madonia Family for over 50 years. Specializing in fresh to market tomatoes, the Madonia Group operated multiple packing facilities and farmed over 10,000 acres in Florida and Virginia.
On March 6th, 2013, the Madonia Group filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition in the Middle District of Florida US Bankruptcy Court. At the time of the filing, the Madonia Group owed approximately $90 million to a group of secured Creditors, that included Metropolitan Life, Anthony Marano Company, Crop Production Services, and the IRS.
Transaction Description:
After months of marketing and more than 13,000 man hours put in by Murray Wise Associates LLC, in cooperation with Crosby & Associates, Woltz & Associates and Weeks Auction, the efforts to sell the Madonia Group assets culminated in four live real estate auctions, an online real estate auction, two equipment auctions, and a private sale of a condominium. Combined sales for the assets totaled over $75 million that were approved by the United States Bankruptcy Court, Middle District of Florida – Tampa Division