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Freeborn & Peters LLP Selected as Counsel to the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of Foods, Inc. d/b/a Dahl’s Foods

On November 20, 2014, the Bankruptcy and Financial Restructuring Practice Group of Freeborn & Peters, was selected as counsel to the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of Foods, Inc. d/b/a Dahl’s Foods (“Dahl’s”) in the Southern District of Iowa.  Partners Richard Lauter, Shelly DeRousse and Devon Eggert and associate Elizabeth Janczak will be handling the engagement.

Dahl’s is a ten store grocery store chain based out of Des Moines, Iowa.  Dahl's has more than 950 employees and had $136.8 million in sales during the 12 months ending June 28.  Dahl’s faced competition in the grocery market place, causing an over-leverage of assets and a decline in revenue, leading to the filing of the bankruptcy case.  

Associated Wholesale Grocers Inc. (“AWG”), a retailer-owned grocery cooperative and grocery distributor, serving over 3,000 retain member stores nationwide, plans to buy Dahl's assets and rebrand the stores. Although assets are valued at over $40 million, the proposed sale price is significantly less, which will prompt the committee to take an active role in the marketing and sale process in order to maximize the value of the assets.

The selection of Freeborn as committee counsel bolsters the Bankruptcy Group’s considerable experience representing official committees of unsecured creditors in chapter 11 cases involving food service and food distribution companies, during which Freeborn attorneys have become highly familiar with the issues affecting unsecured creditors in these industries.  Recent food related representations include representation as special counsel to Quantum Foods, LLC, a leading supplier of protein products and custom menu solutions and representation of the official committee of unsecured creditors of PRM Family Holding Company, LLC, a regional grocer located in Arizona with eleven supermarkets located in four Southwestern states, focusing on the large Hispanic populations in the areas that it serves.

For more information about Dahl’s Foods or AWG, visit their websites.

 

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