AHF Products, Gordon Brothers enter Armstrong Flooring bankruptcy proceedings: Here’s what we know [Analysis] | Local Business

Comprehension the two new firms that have entered Armstrong Flooring Inc. individual bankruptcy proceedings may well get rid of some light on where the legendary Lancaster business is headed.

The organizations, AHF Products and Gordon Brothers, are not collectors, that means they are not owed dollars, and they surfaced this week in comparatively routine filings. 

A person has Armstrong Flooring roots – West Hempfield Township-based mostly flooring producer AHF utilized to be a section of Armstrong Flooring. In addition, AHF’s CEO made use of to work for Armstrong Flooring’s previous guardian business, Armstrong World Industries. Privately held AHF also competes in the same industry as Armstrong Flooring. 

The prospect that AHF is portion of a offer to buy component of Armstrong Flooring’s North American belongings rests on additional than its look in courtroom proceedings as Armstrong Flooring prepares to check with a decide to approve a offer. On Thursday, AHF introduced a obligatory, all-hands assembly for that afternoon as Armstrong Flooring was scheduled to current a deal to the judge. At about the identical time that Armstrong Flooring backed off presenting the offer in court, AHF cancelled the meeting. 

AHF did not reply to concerns from LNP | LancasterOnline asking if it expects to be part of a offer to buy all or element of Armstrong Flooring. 

The 2nd title is Boston-primarily based Gordon Brothers, an intercontinental broker of consolidations, funding and liquidations. 

Supplied that Armstrong Flooring declared Friday that it is doing work to finalize a offer that would maintain a “substantial portion” of its North American operations, it could be Gordon Brothers’ job to liquidate the remaining parts of the corporation. 

Attorneys for AHF and Gordon Brothers submitted requests this week to be admitted into Delaware individual bankruptcy courtroom, a regimen formality in courtroom proceedings. The decide dealing with the scenario has nonetheless to approve. 

Here is extra of what we know about AHF and Gordon Brothers: 

A glance at AHF Goods 

Armstrong Flooring sold its wooden flooring small business, AHF Products and solutions, to non-public equity business American Industrial Partners for $100 million in 2018. Given that then, AHF has grown to contain vinyl, plank, laminate and professional goods. 

Dallas-based Paceline, an additional private equity firm, obtained AHF in February for an undisclosed value. 

In January 2021, AHF diversified more deeply into luxurious vinyl tile production when it obtained Parterre Flooring Programs for an undisclosed selling price. The shift place AHF squarely in level of competition with its previous operator, Armstrong Flooring. The acquisition was AHF’s 3rd right after it agreed to buy a hardwood flooring plant from Tennessee-primarily based American OEM in August 2021, and its invest in of Texas-based LM Flooring in 2019. 

AHF employs more than 2,300 men and women with claimed revenues of more than $400 million. Union membership is not crystal clear companywide, but the Teamsters signify about 400 employees, who manufacture hardwood flooring, beneath many names, which include Bruce Hardwood in Beverly, West Virginia.   

AHF operates 8 manufacturing amenities, seven in the United States and a person in Cambodia, and a few domestic distribution services. It has services in Titusville, Pennsylvania (Crawford County) Warren, Arkansas Oneida, Tennessee West Plains, Missouri Somerset, Kentucky Plano, Texas and Beverly, West Virginia. The Beverly plant formerly belonged to Armstrong Flooring. 

AHF is led by previous Armstrong Entire world Industries executive Brian Carson, who begun with AWI in 1990 out of faculty. He spent 16 years in operational leadership roles at Armstrong World Industries, including as senior vice president of North American resilient and hardwood flooring. 

Carson still left in 2006 to be part of Mohawk Flooring, an Atlanta-based manufacturer of carpet, wooden, vinyl, tile, and rugs. He returned to Lancaster County in 2019.  

Armstrong Environment Industries entered the wooden flooring and cupboard organization by getting Dallas-based Triangle Pacific in 1998 for $1.15 billion. It bought the cupboards enterprise to American Industrial Associates in 2012 for $27 million. 

Armstrong Flooring was spun off from Armstrong Entire world Industries in April 2016 as an impartial, publicly held corporation. 

A seem at Gordon Brothers 

Started in 1903, Gordon Brothers has 30 offices throughout five continents and claims it conducts far more than $70 billion value of inclinations and appraisals on a yearly basis. It has crafted that international company by helping distressed companies manage a range of strategic or fiscal complications, or what it calls “times of transformation.” 

Gordon Brothers offers information throughout all business and industrial sectors but has come to be in particular know for encouraging retail small business heading as a result of personal bankruptcy, which can contain creating quick-phrase loans or overseeing the liquidation of retailers and other property. 

Gordon Brothers has served with store closing revenue for Toys R Us, KB Toys, Hollywood Movie, Radio Shack, Place of work Depot, Circuit Metropolis, Sears and Athletics Authority, amongst a lot of others. 

The business has performed a top role in some of individuals shop closings, including for Sports Authority where by it offered stock, home furniture, fixtures and equipment at all its 450 U.S. destinations soon after Sports Authority filed for personal bankruptcy in 2016. In other scenarios, Gordon Brothers has experienced a smaller sized purpose, these types of as for Sears in which it only oversaw closing gross sales of Sears stores in Canada. 

Locally, Gordon Brothers aided Ephrata Borough-based mostly Doneckers liquidate assets in 2008 when it shut the cafe, guest rooms, and home décor and furniture retailers that experienced been an institution given that the 1960s. 

In some scenarios, Gordon Brothers has managed a company’s brand next a sale of its difficult belongings. Linens ‘n Issues was revived as an online-only brand soon after Gordon Brothers served liquidate the chain’s 500-as well as retail outlets in 2008. And Gordon Brothers aided Sharper Picture re-arise as a licensing structure just after the catalog seller of futuristic devices, electronics and therapeutic massage chairs offered all of its individual difficult assets in 2008.