INVESTOR GROUP TO BUY HECKLER FOR $6.5 MILLION
Byline: Jeff Siegel
NEW YORK — Heckler Manufacturing & Investment Group, a manufacturer of intimate apparel and children’s wear that has been in bankruptcy since March 1994, has agreed to sell the business to an investment group for $6.5 million.
The group, Heckler Acquisition Corp., comprises the owners of Apparel America Inc. and Robby Len Fashions. It would receive all of Heckler’s remaining assets, according to the purchase agreement.
The deal is subject to bankruptcy court approval and better offers. A hearing is scheduled for March 27. Originally hit with an involuntary petition a year ago, Heckler quickly moved to convert the case to Chapter 11.
Heckler’s assets include the Cole girls’ swimwear and Adrienne Vittadini innerwear licenses, inventory and Heckler’s own labels, including Her Majesty.
Marilyn Simon, counsel to Heckler, said that proceeds from the deal will go to pay off a $5.8 million secured claim by BNY Financial Corp., and $200,000 owed to second lien holders, along with other assorted debts.
No money is expected to remain to pay unsecured creditors, which include Milliken & Co., with a $209,181 claim; Republic Factors Corp., owed $70,487, and Stevecoknit Fabrics Co., owner of a $31,242 claim, according to court papers.
Heckler’s financial results began to falter after it lost the Calvin Klein innerwear license to The Warnaco Group. Calvin Klein licensed merchandise accounted for $12 million of Heckler’s $50 million volume in 1993, according to court papers, and the company had expected to increase it even further.
Without the Klein license, Heckler was unable to meet its overhead and was hit with the involuntary Chapter 7 petition in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Columbia, S.C., in March 1994. After the case was converted to Chapter 11, it was moved to New York in June.
Heckler continued to endure tough times and, with losses of $2 million since the filing, decided to look for a buyer. — Fairchild News Service