The stakes have once again been raised in the fight for Yellow Corp.’s network of truck terminals, this time by a bidder with more cash and stronger terms.
Estes Express Lines has put up $1.525B for the portfolio, replacing Old Dominion Freight Line’s $1.5B offer as the stalking horse bid, according to The Wall Street Journal. The Richmond, Virginia-based company is also offering a lower breakup fee and other financial terms that could help the bankrupt Yellow pay off its creditors.
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Mounting debt amassed through a series of mergers and a union conflict forced Yellow to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in early August after nearly a century in business. The company had about $1.5B in outstanding debt as of March. Its portfolio of 170 truck terminals is valued at $1.1B.
Already, 540 prospective buyers of properties and equipment have contacted the company and its bankruptcy adviser, Ducera Partners. Confidentiality agreements to assess the assets have been formalized with more than half of those companies, per the WSJ.
Last month, Yellow asked for bankruptcy court approval to back out of more than three dozen leases across the U.S. and Canada. Affected properties include truck terminals, offices, warehouses and outdoor storage space. The company’s headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee, is also on the list.
An auction for Yellow’s owned terminals is set for Oct. 18. The company is also looking to offload tens of thousands of trucks and trailers valued at about $900M, per the WSJ.
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