A US bankruptcy judge has said he will approve the sale of Brewster Heights Packing and Orchards, the bankrupt flagship of Washington's Gebbers Farms, to the Legendary Fruit Company, keeping the north-central Washington tree-fruit business going under new owners, Capital Press reports.

"This will perpetuate a business that's important for not just Central and Eastern Washington, but for the United States," Judge Frederick Corbit said in Spokane on 23 September, praising the lawyers for making the best of a tough situation.

Brewster, part of a sixth-generation farming business, reported 4,700 full-time employees in July and filed for bankruptcy in June, citing unprofitable times in Washington agriculture and debts of about $225 million to two lenders alone.

Legendary, a Central Washington fruit company, formed an entity called Heritage Orchards Alliance to make the purchase. Its bid of $231.1 million comprises $75 million in cash and the assumption of about $156 million in debt. No other feasible bid emerged, said Brewster attorney John Mitchell, and unsecured creditors can expect nine to 11 cents on the dollar.

Some creditors had objected that the bid was too low and carried too little cash, but later withdrew their objections. The judge called the offer fair after what he described as robust marketing. The two sides hope to close the sale by 30 October. The story was written by Don Jenkins.

Photo: Jon Roanhaus / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Source: Capital Press