Columbia Pulp I assets may go up for auction in June

SEATTLE–The receiver of Columbia Pulp I, LLC, will ask a King County Superior Court judge to approve a process to auction the assets of the Starbuck-area straw-to-pulp plant in a hearing set here on May 18.

Lance Miller, the receiver, was appointed in April, 2022, to handle recovery of stakeholders' value, an action initiated by UMB Bank, N.A. when the Columbia Pulp failed to make payments when due. Among the receiver's powers was the power to sell the assets. UMB Bank, N.A. is trustee for certain bonds issued by the Washington Economic Development Finance Authority.

Since June, 2022, the receiver's investment banker, GLC, has pursued a comprehensive marketing process to identify a third-party purchaser for "substantially all of the Company's assets," the court document indicates.

"It has now become clear that the Company lacks funding to continue to operate as a going concern beyond June 2023," the receiver states in the motion to Judge Douglass A. North. "Thus, identifying and pursuing a value-maximizing exit in an expedited manner is critical to avoid substantial and irreparable harm to the Company and stakeholders."

The receiver is proposing a bid deadline of June 12, 2023 with an auction, if necessary, to be held on June 15, 2023. A proposed sale hearing, subject to availability of the court, is June 26 and the sale closing date may be June 30, 2023. The May 2 motion asks the judge to approve the timeline.

Columbia Pulp I is a single-purpose limited liability company organized in Washington for the sole purpose of developing, owning and operating an agricultural waste-to-pulp manufacturing plant, where wheat and see alfalfa straw sourced within a 100-mile radius, would be processed into wet-lap pulp sold to tissue, paper, molded fiber and packaging manufacturers in the Pacific Northwest and United States.

Between June, 2022, and the present, GLC Advisers & Co., LLC and GLCA Securities LLC, an investment bank pursued a comprehensive marketing strategy to sell some or all of Columbia Pulp as a going concern.

Some 158 potentially interested parties were contacted, 27 of whom expressed interest in one or more of Columbia Pulp's assets by executing non-disclosure agreements, court documents indicate.

No executable offers had been received as of March, 2023, prompting Miller, the receiver, to begin exploring alternatives. Court records show that Miller has continued to market the company as a whole while simultaneously marketing the assets in lots to various parties. As of May 2, Miller has received specific indications of interest in certain assets from a number of potential purchasers.

Miller indicated that the bidding procedures proposed will all solicitation and identification of potential buyers that constitute the highest or otherwise best offer for the assets, whether as a "going concern" or as part of a liquidation sale, on a schedule consistent with Columbia Pulp's liquidity position.

If the Receiver receives more than one Qualified Bid (including a combination of bids that, when considered together, constitute a Qualified Bid) for some portion or all of the Assets, the Receiver will conduct an Auction for the Assets, records show. The Receiver also included provisions for a Stalking Horse Bid.