Instant Brands, maker of consumer favorites like Instant Pot®, Corelle®, Pyrex®, Snapware®, CorningWare®, Visions® and Chicago Cutlery®, announced that it is taking steps to strengthen the Company as it continues providing housewares and appliance products under its iconic brands, found in approximately 90% of homes in the United States and in millions of other homes around the world.
Instant Brands and certain of its affiliates have initiated a voluntary court-supervised Chapter 11 process that provides the Company time and flexibility to continue ongoing discussions with all of its financial stakeholders in an effort to achieve a consensual path forward that strengthens the Company's financial position.
In connection with the court-supervised process, Instant Brands has received a commitment for $132.5 million in new debtor-in-possession financing from its existing lenders. Following court approval, this new financing, combined with cash generated from the Company's ongoing operations, is expected to support the business during the court-supervised process.
As the Company moves through this process, Instant Brands remains committed to its purpose: providing innovative products that deliver amazing culinary experiences to consumers around the world. In addition, the official Instant Brands Connect app will continue to inspire and help consumers make meals with ease.
"Instant Brands delivers houseware and small kitchen appliance products designed to meet consumer needs around the world. Over the past three years, we executed across five key strategies to build a profitable business. Our Company continues to drive positive operating cash flows. We brought innovation to our core business across all brands, entered several new product categories, expanded our global footprint, progressively improved how we leverage our global infrastructure and last but not least, we have created best-in-class global consumer engagement through our digital eco-system," said Ben Gadbois, President and CEO of Instant Brands.
"After successfully navigating the COVID-19 pandemic and the global supply chain crisis, we continue to face additional global macroeconomic and geopolitical challenges that have affected our business. In particular, tightening of credit terms and higher interest rates impacted our liquidity levels and made our capital structure unsustainable. In recent months, we have been working closely with all of our financial stakeholders to position the Company for its next phase of success."
Mr. Gadbois continued, "As we move through this process, we remain focused on serving and connecting with our consumers around the world, and we are grateful for their trust in us and our products. We are committed to finding a positive outcome. We thank our Instant Brands employees in factories, distribution centers and offices all over the world for their ongoing hard work and excellence, and we also extend our gratitude to our retail partners, suppliers and vendors for their continued support."
Instant Brands and certain of its North American affiliates have filed voluntary petitions for reorganization under chapter 11 of Title 11 of the United States Code ("Chapter 11") in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Southern Texas. In addition, the Company is commencing ancillary proceedings in Canada under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) seeking recognition of the U.S. Chapter 11 proceedings in Canada.
The Company's entities located outside the US and Canada are not included in the Chapter 11 filings.
The Company has filed a number of customary motions seeking court approval to continue to support its operations during the court-supervised process, including the continued payment of employee wages and benefits without interruption. Instant Brands expects to receive Court approval for these requests shortly. The Company intends to pay vendors, suppliers and distributors in full under normal terms for goods and services provided on or after the filing date.
Additionally, the Company has appointed Adam Hollerbach, Partner and Managing Director at AlixPartners, as Chief Restructuring Officer. Mr. Hollerbach brings more than 20 years of experience in the restructuring advisory field and a wide breadth of business leadership expertise.