“It is likely with another week or two we would have had an investor group as the successful bidder. Gemcap said no and the bidder they had recruited to be the “stalking horse bid” would only agree to a two-day extension — and a $250,000 fee,” he said in an email that accompanied the release.
Harden maintains ownership of the company real estate. All other aspects of the Harden Furniture, including its name, belong to the single bidder, Big Shoulders Capital, which Harden described as “a specialty lender headquartered in Northbook, Illinois.”
GemCap had loaned the money for a leverage buyout of the company by an Illinois investment group in 2016.
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Harden expressed regret in the email, but refused to give up hope for some future for the business and its 175 employees. “We still might survive — or we might start fresh at some point down the road,” he wrote.
Contact McChesney at cmcchesney@cnybj.com.
Photo credit: Harden Furniture
