Van's Aircraft posted a short video recapping the goings-on around their reorganization as they continue to move away from the brink, and by all accounts, things are going great.
Clyde Hamstreet indicated that things are going pretty well in the Chapter 11 process, and they expect their reorganization plan to be approved by the court come May. Hamstreet noted, with pleasure, that few companies in a similar position manage to survive the process, but Van's is sitting pretty. Their plan for reorganization hinges on restructuring nearly all existing contracts between suppliers, contractors, clients, and customers, which can often torpedo any prospective deal in the process. Thankfully, Hamstreet said that everyone involved has been more than accommodating in reaching an acceptable deal.
"Our plan calls for a good recovery for creditors, we'll come out of this with well capitalization because of [Van Grunsfen's] family putting in quite a bit of cash, but also because of the support of the vendors and their customers," added Hamstreet. Most contracts with customers were renegotiated with the majority of buyers, even those holding outstanding orders placed years in advance. With the way the economy has been going lately, most customers were very understanding of the fact that Van's was taking a loss by older prices from ~2021.
"We renegotiated what our debt restructuring is on a lot of our debts, mostly with the family. Those debts are going to be converted into equity," Hamstreet continued. Going forward, for the next 3 years, Van's Aircraft will be keeping all customer funding in a segregated account, only dipping into it when the buyer's kits and products are ready to ship. That's a protective measure, should Van's start to slip back towards the bankruptcy vortex, ensuring that customers aren't left holding the bag.
The rest of the video touches on the claims process for those who feel they're owed money by Van's, outlining the negotiation process between Van's and such debtors, under the court's judgment. Claims stemming from the laser-cut parts fiasco should be fairly limited, since the firm has put a full plan into place to ensure affected kits and clients can get their parts replaced anyways. Others that fall outside existing programs of redressing some of Van's recent issues will fall under different claims processes depending on how much they are owed.
FMI: www.vansaircraft.com
