CASE STUDIES

Series of Orderly Liquidations & Online Auctions*

When Hilco was contacted to assist Keslow Camera with the sale of the company’s excess product, we provided the expertise associated with our nearly two decades of sales for motion picture and television rental companies, studios and product manufacturers.  To facilitate the sale, we utilized a strategic blend of orderly liquidations and public online auctions to a global audience of buyers over a six month period.  Sale Partner:

3-Day Auction Event, Plus 30,000 Boxes of Student Records Consolidated and 20,000 Hard Drives Destroyed*

Nothing about the disposition of ITT Technical Institute falls under the heading of simple, including the bid process which was a 72 hour turn-around without a single site inspection.  The pressures of the project came from multiple sources, including Attorneys General of multiple states that were battling the Bankruptcy Trustee for control of the student records, over 70 leased facilities amassing significant occupancy costs and the unknown status of PII (Personal Identifiable Information) on hard drives throughout the facilities.

Within 21 days of employment with the court and leveraging Tiger Capital Group’s roster of consultants nationwide, we (i) consolidated over 30,000 boxes of student records, properly labeled and delivered to a centralized records facility, (ii) palletized and consolidated over 20,000 computer cpus for which we procured highest and best bids for their sale to a company capable of facilitating DoD data destruction, (iii) selling packages of facility equipment to landlords and (iv) relocating all valuable school equipment to one of three regional warehouse for auctions which took place approximately one month later.  In addition, we worked collaboratively with real estate firm A&G Realty as owned locations were sold, assisting with additional auctions and orderly liquidations of equipment in owned facilities.

Turnkey Offering & Contingent Live Auction*

This processing plant, which converted macadaian nut shells to activated carbon, cost over 100M to setup on the big island of Hawaii.  When production issues delayed full production, the company was forced to file Chapter 7 bankruptcy.  While the trustee was making every effort to save the facility from tear down, after months of sale effort, he reached out for assistance.  The plan was to schedule an auction as far out as practical, given holding costs, and use the pre-auction period to both prepare for the piecemeal sale and further attempt a turnkey sale.  Given the facility had never run at full production and still required work to produce its intended end product, finding a buyer was not easy.  However, with days left until the intended auction, an agreement was entered that gave the facility another opportunity, an outcome desired by the trustee, local government and other wested parties.  Sale Partner:

8 Public Auction Events Worldwide *

After a competitor’s 4G technology was adopted ahead of Broadcom’s, many of the company’s R&D facilities worldwide required liquidation.  Looking for a single source solution, we collaborated with global tech equipment liquidator Equipnet to facilitate 8 online only auction events throughout the US, Europe and Asia on Broadcom’s behalf.  The sale process was crafted to provide authorized Broadcom managers with the opportunity to reclaim equipment prior to auction, and to allow for price protection on select items.  The sales were completed within six months and achieved more than 90% sell through.

Online Auctions for over 100 Bank Branch Locations & Asset Management Solution**

Following the financial crisis in 2008, the FDIC began shutting down banks at a rapid pace.  The first step of their process required the photo cataloging of each bank asset for reporting and compliance purposes.  Then, within 60-90 days, banks not aquired by another financial institution would be scheduled for sale by auction.  To prepare the auctions, we leveraged the initial photo catalogs to save time and money.  Auctions included corporate office furniture, network/server equipment, computers, teller equipment, safes and all related assets.  Approximately 15 banks were sold between 2008 and 2010, including over 100 branch locations.

6-Day Webcast Auction & Turnkey Offering (Sold in Bulk)**

The non-profit organization that owned Ambassador University – a 2,200 acre campus in Big Sandy, Texas – knew they had a unique property with tremendous value.  Unfortunately, its location made it a tough sale.  After an extended time on the conventional market as a complete University, we were engaged for a concurrent sale of real estate and personal property.  The sale included farm land, residential housing, a radio station, an airstrip and a 700,000 square foot core campus area equipped with top quality furnishings and equipment.  8,000 lots were prepared for a 6-day auction event, while we marketed the property for both auction and potenial pre-sale with partners, Tranzon Fox.  All parties were thrilled to secure a buyer for the property, in its entirety, days before the auction. Sale Partner:

OVER 50 LIVE & ONLINE AUCTIONS OVER 7 YEARS**

Before Apple Computer’s rise to prominence, it struggled with surplus product issues.  Excess included special order product cancellations and refurbished units.  Over the span of 7 years, we sold through over 100 Million of product through sales which targeted a blend of end-users and dealers.  Sales occurred live at venues around the country, and were webcast to a global audience.  Product was sold with a limited warranty.  Not only did the model generate top dollar for Apple, but it became a key source of product for a dealer community that aggressively competed for product.

Custom Asset Management System Deployment with over 50,000 Items Barcoded and Cataloged**

20th Century Props was facing the rapidly diminshing need for prop rental in Hollywood.  They turned their sites on customers outside of the industry and recognized the need for an online catalog of their collection to be effective.  This was a tremendous task that involved capturing data for those items already in an aged-out database, and adding thousands of new barcodes and photos for an eclectic mix of furniture, furnishings and collectibles packed into a 200,000 square foot warehouse.  We created the system and project flow, and leveraged the knowledge and skills acquired from 100’s of auction cataloging engagements to execute  the task.