Essex Crane sold substantially all of its productive rental equipment assets and three real property locations to Maxim Crane Works for about $75 million, Essex Crane Rental Corp. announced this week. Essex Crane effectively cased its operations as of the Sept. 9 date of the asset sale and has entered into a forbearance agreement with its administrative agent Wells Fargo Capital Finance Corp. to sell its remaining assets.
The net proceeds of the asset sale and any additional asset sales during its wind down period will be used to fund Essex Crane payables, including employee payroll amounts and similar obligations. The proceeds will also be used to reduce outstanding obligations under the Essex Crane Revolving Credit Facility.
Coast Crane, the other division of Essex Rental Corp., entered into a third amendment to its second amended and restated credit agreement with Wells Fargo Bank, which provides for a waiver of previously disclosed defaults. The funding provides for the ability of Coast Crane to purchase certain cranes from the administrative agents.
“The UCC sale and subsequent clarity it provided at Essex Crane, along with the waiver of the default under the Coast Crane Credit Facility were important steps toward moving forward,” said Nick Matthews, president and CEO of Essex. “We appreciate the patience of our shareholders, customers and employees and are eager to focus all of our efforts on creating shareholder value.”
