BELLINGHAM, WA – It looks as though retail chain Haggen will soon find itself in court again, as a group of creditors has filed suit against the retailer’s previous owner, Comvest Group Holdings, for $100 million still owed to suppliers, landlords, and laid-off employees.
The suit, which The Bellingham Herald reported was filed earlier this month in a Delaware Bankruptcy Court, alleges that Comvest used real estate assets obtained from Haggen’s acquisition of Albertsons to benefit its own company, and did not use the assets to pay back its creditors.
According to The Bellingham Herald, the creditors name Comvest in the complaint as developing a “convoluted Machiavellian scheme,” where it intended to engage in real estate play rather than expanding the chain. The suit also states that the company transferred Haggen’s most profitable real estate holdings to an unlisted subsidiary in the bankruptcy case, protecting them from creditors.
The suit seeks for $100 million in debts to be paid to unsecured creditors, HH Liquidation LLC. The unsecured creditors stated that in addition to putting its assets out of reach, Comvest also did not focus on effective plans to combine the Albertsons and Haggen markets in such a short timeframe, thus causing it to fail.
“Comvest tried to slink away from the smoldering ruins of Haggen with more than $100 million dollars’ worth of real estate assets,” according to the complaint, as reported by The Bellingham Herald.
Comvest bought a majority stake in Haggen in 2011, and purchased 146 of Albertsons’ divested stores in 2014. The chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy eight months after the purchase was finalized, leaving just 15 Haggen stores by this year.
Neither party has released a comment to the press since the case was filed.
As the story and case progresses, AndNowUKnow will continue to have the latest.
