Friday, March 29, 2024
On Friday evening, Van’s Aircraft filed its Chapter 11 Plan of Reorganization with the Federal Bankruptcy Court. The filing will be complete after the court sets various hearing dates and the judge signs a certificate making it an official court document. This usually takes 3-5 days. Then, a copy of the officially filed plan is mailed to the same approximately 40 thousand people that were notified at the time Van’s filed bankruptcy. Those people who have claims against the company receive ballots so they can vote either for or against the plan. Votes will be collected by Van’s attorneys, tallied, and reported to the court as it considers whether to approve or reject the plan.
Van’s customers who made deposits on their orders prior to the bankruptcy and chose not to renew their orders and have valid claims will have their claims classified as Priority and/or Unsecured claims. Priority claims will be paid upon confirmation of the plan or as soon as allowed, and the unsecured claims will be paid at an estimated rate of 55% of the unsecured amount over the course of the next three years. Had the company liquidated rather than reorganizing under Chapter 11, it is estimated that creditors would have received only 4% of their claim amounts.
The existing skilled, hardworking team at Van’s has made solid progress toward its recovery goals since the initial filing in December and is shipping many kits, parts, and orders to customers each week. To assist the existing Van’s team, the plan calls for adding new positions in quality control, engineering, accounting, and technology. In addition, the plan includes funding to replace equipment and install new business systems, including an MRP system.
Van’s will share additional information related to the plan filing after the court has completed its next steps, sometime next week.
