Buyer found for insolvent Springer Aerospace, would keep Sault Ste. Marie business operating
Buyer found for insolvent Springer Aerospace, would keep Sault Ste. Marie business operating
Pending court and debtor approval, a buyer has been found for Springer Aerospace in Sault Ste. Marie, which declared insolvency late last year.
Springer CEO Christopher Grant said in a March 29 affidavit that the buyer intends to carry on business as usual, should the offer be accepted.
“The potential transaction pursued contemplates the sale of the applicants’ business as a going concern, with current management continuing to participate in the business going forward,” Grant said.
“The transaction is expected to be structured in a manner that results in minimal disruption to employees and customers.”
Based in Echo Bay, near Sault Ste. Marie, Springer is an aircraft maintenance company that has operated since 1972 and employs about 100 people.
It occupies about 210 acres and includes three hangers and an airport that includes a main runway that is large enough to accommodate Boeing 737s for landing and takeoff.
The business was hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, which largely shut down the airline industry for an extended period.
With the aviation industry shut down, revenues tanked and the company’s inability to make their debt payments alarmed Caisse Desjardins Ontario Credit Union Inc., the company’s primary lender.
The company had undergone an expansion prior to the pandemic that wasn’t properly planned, court documents said, and it also saw an exodus of senior staff.
Debts piled up and totalled $5.7 million by July 2022. By November, the company had just $1,400 in its bank account and filed for insolvency protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA).
According to court documents, terms of the sale have been finalized with the undisclosed buyer. The buyer is now in talks with Desjardins and other debtors “to ensure that conditions can be satisfied or waived and the transaction closed in a timely manner.”
“It is expected that the sale proceeds will be sufficient to satisfy the applicants’ priority payables as well as a significant portion of Desjardins’ outstanding liabilities,” the court document said.
“The transaction, if approved, will allow the business to continue with a clean balance sheet, preserve employment, and ensure that work will continue in the normal course on customer aircraft.”
The company received court approval to extend the restructuring deadline to April 11 to allow the sale to be finalized.
Springer is one of the few full-service aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul businesses in Canada, and the only one located in northern Ontario.
Springer’s customers include airlines, corporations, and private individuals. The company’s facilities comprise state-of-the-art hangars as well as an airport and runways with the capability to accommodate aircraft as large as a Boeing 737s. Before it found a buyer, Springer received court approval to offer bonuses to certain key staff if they remained with the company. That was an attempt to stop the exit of employees that began after the CCAA process began.
Imagine being struck with a sudden onset of confusion, struggling to think of words or to recognize your surroundings — and even ending up in the emergency department because of it. No, this isn’t a description of dementia, but of a common complication that can arise from serious liver disease.
A beluga whale widely speculated to be an alleged Russian 'spy' has entered Swedish waters, according to OneWhale, an organization set up to protect the animal’s health and welfare.
North Korea's attempt to put the country's first spy satellite into space failed Wednesday in a setback to leader Kim Jong Un's push to boost his military capabilities as tensions with the United States and South Korea rise.
Gangs of killer whales have been causing chaos off the coast of Spain for the past few years, ramming into hundreds of boats, causing expensive damage to some and even sinking three since 2020. And UBC researchers have a theory why.
Beijing responded Wednesday to complaints from the United States about a Chinese fighter jet's dangerous interception of an American Air Force reconnaissance aircraft in international airspace over the South China Sea by demanding an end to such flights.
Huntsville OPP has charged a third suspect in connection to an alleged assault captured on video at a local high school and shared on social media earlier this month.
Two former Ontario conservation officers are imploring the province to reverse plans to expand a sport that allows dogs to track down captive coyotes, foxes and rabbits in massive fenced-in pens.
The TTC has launched an investigation after a video of a firework being set off inside one of its buses surfaced on social media Tuesday night and went viral.
Canadian Heritage unveiled the programming for July 1 celebrations, inviting Canadians to come to the capital region to "join the biggest party in the country!"
Nesting red-winged blackbirds are back in Ottawa, another sign spring has returned. But people running near the Rideau Canal say they've been hit by a wave of unexpected attacks.
The Township of East-Zorra Tavistock and the surrounding community are in mourning after a fatal crash took the lives of a police officer and a bus driver.
An investigation is currently underway after a pedestrian was struck by a vehicle in the parking lot of London, Ont.’s Victoria Hospital on Tuesday night.
Last year, Quebec’s Bill 96 became law, which brought sweeping changes to the Charter of the French language. Sections of the new law will come into effect on June 1, the one-year anniversary of the bill receiving royal assent.
A Quebec forensics company promised millions of dollars in bribes to officials in the Philippines, including a cabinet minister and his brother, as it sought lucrative police contracts, according to a statement of facts attached to a deal the firm struck to avoid prosecution in Canada.
A 42-year-old man was stabbed and injured early Wednesday morning in downtown Montreal. Police (SPVM) believe the suspect, a 23-year-old man, is related to the victim.
A wildfire in northwest Halifax has destroyed more than 150 homes and about 50 other structures, the municipality’s executive director of public safety said Tuesday at a news conference.
Manitoba RCMP have arrested a priest from a First Nation community who is accused of sexually assaulting an 8-year-old girl, and believe there may be more victims.
Winnipeg's mayor is proposing a plan to create a ring of 24/7 shelters around downtown Winnipeg which he says will help get those experiencing homelessness out of bus shelters and into safe spaces.
The East Prairie Métis Settlement is one of several Indigenous communities that were hard-hit by the recent wildfires in Alberta. As the wildfire season rages on, residents and community officials are looking among the ruins, pondering how they’ll recover from all the losses.
Frontline health-care workers at Surrey Memorial Hospital say the emergency room should be shut down to new patients if staff shortages continue to create "perilous" conditions for people in need of urgent care.
B.C.'s housing minister promises "big changes" are coming to Abbotsford’s most dangerous homeless camp. But critics aren't buying it, saying the province has known about the notorious encampment for years and done nothing.
A Vancouver woman is spreading the word after discovering pieces of bread filled with safety pins while walking her dog Tuesday morning near Ontario street and 3rd Avenue.
