Closing date set for sale of beef plant

The bankruptcy sale of a closed beef plant on the southwest corner of Aberdeen is nearly final, according to court documents filed in the case.

A bankruptcy judge set April 4 as the deadline to close on the sale, the paperwork says.

White Oak Global Advisors still stands as the top bidder on the plant, having submitted a cash and credit bid of $44.35 million at a bankruptcy auction Dec. 5 in Sioux Falls. Of the bid, $39.5 million was credit based on White Oak having lent Northern Beef $35 million in 2012. The remaining $4.85 million is cash.

“In order to make sure that all administrative matters necessary for the closing are handled in connection with the closing, the (beef plant) and White Oak have agreed that it is in the best interests of the estate and parties in interest to have the closing deadline briefly extended,” a motion requesting an April 5 closing date said.

However, Judge Charles Nail trimmed a day off of that request. Previous closing deadlines were not set for a specific date, rather for a certain number of days after the judge entered an order finalizing the sale.

Documents say that White Oak is awaiting confirmation of the timing and effectiveness of new insurance because neither party wants to risk a gap in coverage. Northern Beef and White Oak are still working toward closing the deal, according to the paperwork.

No objections were filed to the requested closing date.

If White Oak cannot finalize the sale, the closing deadline for the other company that submitted a lower bid at the bankruptcy auction will be April 11, according to Nail’s order. That $12.75 million cash bid by American Foods Group, of Green Bay, Wis., was for the minimum bid set by the court.

White Oak has not announced what plans it has for the plant.

Follow @ScottReports on Twitter.