Hilco Global facilitated the sale of substantially all of the assets for Shop-Vac to GreatStar in a multi-million dollar transaction that closed on December 24, 2020. The assets acquired in the transaction include Shop-Vac’s intellectual property, real estate, machinery & equipment, inventory, and accounts receivable holdings.

Shop-Vac is headquartered in Williamsport, Pennsylvania and is the brand leader in wet/dry vacuum systems for consumer and commercial applications. Hilco Global was brought in to provide advisory services around work-in-process (“WIP”) conversion and inventory sales and was subsequently engaged to run a process to sell all the assets of Shop-Vac.
 
Using the breadth, depth, and experience of the entire Hilco Global platform, the Commercial Industrial team was able to optimize Shop-Vac’s operations, convert work in process WIP inventory, keep existing sales channels open, and collect the accounts receivable portfolio.  In parallel to consulting and helping to manage Shop-Vac’s business, Hilco executed a successful sales process, ultimately finding a buyer to purchase substantially all assets.
 
Brent Bonham, Executive Vice President Hilco Commercial Industrial said, “The Shop-Vac assignment demonstrates the ability of the Hilco Global platform to leverage its expertise across our different operating companies to develop a unique solution that creates value for all stakeholders.”  Bonham added, “The key to success of the Shop-Vac engagement was that we were engaged early in the process before operations ceased. Doing so allowed us to develop strategies to add benefit to the business and stakeholders, such as finishing WIP inventory and negotiating sales to existing and future customers. In the end, our experience and strategy were successful and brought substantial recovery to the lender and sustained benefit to the company purchasing the assets.”

As part of the acquisition, GreatStar will take ownership of all Shop-Vac’s company assets, keep open the Williamsport, PA, factory, and preserve existing and some previously eliminated jobs.