Open Road Films in bankruptcy, looks to sell substantially all assets

By Caroline Salls

Pittsburgh, Sept. 6 – Open Road Films, LLC filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Thursday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

The company has requested court approval of the bid procedures for the sale of substantially all of its assets.

Under the proposed bid procedures, bids would be due by 5 p.m. ET on Nov. 2.

All bids must be accompanied by a deposit equal to 10% of the proposed purchase price and must include a commitment to close the sale by Nov. 16.

If Open Road selects a stalking horse bid, it will notify all interested parties within two days of the selection and ask the court to approve the stalking horse agreement and any related bid protections.

An auction will be held on Nov. 7, if necessary. Bids at auction must be made in minimum increments of $1 million.

The company is proposing a Nov. 9 sale hearing.

Open Road is also seeking court approval to use the cash collateral of its pre-bankruptcy secured parties to fund its operations while in bankruptcy.

“Without the ability to use cash collateral, the debtors will be unable to meet post-petition obligations and will be unable to fund working capital needs, thus causing irreparable harm to the value of their assets and ending the debtors’ orderly sale efforts,” the company said in the cash collateral use motion.

According to court documents, Open Road has $100 million to $500 million in both assets and debt.

The company’s largest unsecured creditors are Bank Leumi of Los Angeles, with a $10.81 million litigation party claim; Viacom, Inc., based in Hollywood, Calif., with a $7.07 million trade vendor claim; the Walt Disney Co. of Celebration, Fla., with a $5.11 million trade vendor claim; NBCUniversal, based in New York, with a $4.44 million trade vendor claim; and Turner Broadcasting System of New York, with a $3.51 million trade vendor claim.

The largest unsecured creditors also include Kasima, LLC of Mahwah, N.J., with a $2.44 million trade vendor claim; Google, LLC, based in Mountain View, Calif., with a $2.01 million trade vendor claim; Discovery, Inc., of Knoxville, Tenn., with a $1.85 million trade vendor claim; Promise Acquisitions LLC of Beverley Hills, Calif., with a $1.71 million trade vendor claim; and BBG Home Again LLC of Los Angeles, with a $1.63 million trade vendor claim.

The company is represented in the Chapter 11 case by Young, Conaway, Stargatt & Taylor, LLP.

Open Road is a Los Angeles-based film operation. The Chapter 11 case number is 18-12012.

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