Franchise Services of North America announces court approval of Advantage asset sale to Catalyst and officer departure
PR Newswire
RIDGELAND, MS, Jan. 6, 2014
TSX-V Trading Symbol: FSN
RIDGELAND, MS, Jan. 6, 2014 /PRNewswire/ – FRANCHISE SERVICES OF NORTH AMERICA INC. (“FSNA” or the “Company“) (FSN.V) announces that the United States Bankruptcy Court for the
Southern District of Mississippi (the “Bankruptcy Court“) has declared that The Catalyst Group, Inc. (on behalf of one or more
funds managed by it) (“Catalyst“) is the prevailing purchaser in the auction of certain of the assets
of the Company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Simply Wheelz LLC (“Simply Wheelz“), which does business as Advantage Rent A Car (“Advantage“), and has approved the sale of the Advantage assets to Catalyst free
of all liens and other encumbrances. The auction was conducted in
accordance with bidding procedures (the “Bid Procedures“) approved by the Bankruptcy Court as part of the Simply Wheelz
insolvency proceedings. Sixt SE has been declared the back-up bidder
under the Bid Procedures in the event that Simply Wheelz is not able to
complete the sale transaction with Catalyst within the specified period
of time.
Simply Wheelz hopes to complete its sale to Catalyst in the first
quarter of 2014. However, the Company cautions that there are a number
of procedural matters and arrangements with third parties that will
need to be completed before such sale can be consummated. Simply Wheelz
filed for U.S. federal bankruptcy protection on November 6, 2013.
The Company also announces that Robert M. Barton has ceased to serve as
President and Chief Operating Officer of the Company. Mr. Barton’s
responsibilities as the Company’s President and Chief Operating Officer
have been temporarily assumed by Thomas P. McDonnell, III, the
Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chairman.
About FSNA
FSNA is a publicly traded company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange.
The Company and its subsidiaries own the following brands: Advantage
Rent A Car, U-Save Car & Truck Rental (“U-Save“), U-Save Car Sales, Rent-A-Wreck of Canada, PractiCar, Auto Rental
Resource Center (“ARRC“), Xpress Rent A Car and Peakstone Financial Services.
The Company operates the Advantage car rental brand at 72 corporate
locations in 33 states including airport locations servicing 60 of the
top 70 airports across the United States. Advantage is the fourth
largest independent rental car company in the United States.
U-Save, together with its subsidiary ARRC, has over 900 locations
throughout the United States and is one of North America’s largest
franchise car rental companies. U-Save currently services 19 airport
markets in 13 different states. Although primarily based in the United
States, U-Save has 18 international locations in Mexico, Greece, the
Middle East, Latin America, and the Caribbean.
Practicar Systems Inc. owns the rights to the Rent-A-Wreck and the
PractiCar trademarks for all of Canada. The Rent-A-Wreck system
operates a network of 61 franchise locations from coast-to-coast in
Canada, providing a range of vehicle rental, leasing and sales options
to its customers. The Rent-A-Wreck system has been in continuous
operation in Canada since 1976.
Forward-Looking Information
Certain statements made in this news release are forward-looking in
nature, including statements concerning the ability of Simply Wheelz to
complete its sale transaction with Catalyst and the time at which such
sale might be completed. The words “may”, “could”, “should”, “would”,
“expect”, “intend”, “estimate”, “anticipate”, “believe”, or “outlook”
and similar expressions often identify forward-looking information. By
their nature, forward-looking statements require FSNA to make
assumptions and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties. The
forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based on
certain key expectations and assumptions made by FSNA, including with
respect to its ability to complete a sale transaction with Catalyst and
the time at which such sale might be completed. Although FSNA believes
that the expectations and assumptions on which the forward-looking
statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be
placed on the forward-looking statements because FSNA can give no
assurance that they will prove to be correct. These forward-looking
statements also involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and
other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or
achievements of FSNA to differ materially from the anticipated results,
performance or achievements or developments expressed or implied by
such forward-looking statements. Such factors include risks discussed
in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in FSNA’s management information
circular dated March 28, 2013 filed with Canadian securities
regulators. If any such risks actually occur, they could materially and
adversely affect FSNA’s business, financial condition or results of
operations. FSNA’s forward-looking statements are qualified in their
entirety by these cautionary statements. In addition, the
forward-looking statements are made only as of the date of this news
release, and except as required by applicable securities law, FSNA
undertakes no obligation to publicly update these forward-looking
statements to reflect new information, subsequent events or otherwise.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as
that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange)
accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
SOURCE Franchise Services of North America Inc.
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