Briggs & Stratton Corp. completed its sale to an affiliate of New York-based private equity firm KPS Capital Partners on Monday, according to securities filings.
The Wauwatosa-based small engine and turf care product maker had filed for bankruptcy protection in mid-July. The company entered the court process with an agreement from KPS to buy nearly all of its assets for $550 million. The offer was to serve as the stalking horse bid for a court-supervised auction of the company.
Briggs ultimately cancelled the auction after not receiving any qualifying bids by the Aug. 28 deadline. Creditors and other interested parties had objected to the bid procedures, contending the process was too quick and did not properly invite bids for portions of the company.
Multiple bids were submitted for parts of Briggs, but none amounted to a qualifying bid and they only accounted for around 11% of the company.
Briggs, KPS and the company’s creditors were able to reach a settlement agreement after the deadline passed that stopped the deal from facing additional objections. Part of that agreement called for the sale to close by Sept. 27. The original timeline planned by Briggs called for a November closing.
As a result of concessions by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. and KPS, Briggs & Stratton creditors were expected to receive 7 to 10 cents on the dollar for the debts they held in the company.
Briggs & Stratton shareholders, on the other hand, were expected to receive no recovery.
A Briggs spokesman did not immediately have a comment on the deal closing. A KPS spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
