Grey Mountain Wins Bidding War for Dlubak

Grey Mountain Partners, parent company of Consolidated Glass Holdings, purchased the assets of Dlubak Corp., Sept. 23, during a court auction. The private equity firm outbid GGIandOran Safety Glass Israelfor Dlubak, submitting a high offerof $3.25 million, according to court documents.

According to the terms of the purchase, Grey Mountain will also “pay and be responsible for payment of vacation pay owed to employee union members in the approximate amount of $130,000 ... and enter into a three-month extension of the current collective bargaining agreement with the union.”

“We are very excited to bring Dlubak into the Consolidated Glass Holdings family,” Paul Cody, CEO of Consolidated Glass Holdings, told Glass Magazine. “We believe that their operation and product line fit nicely into our current landscape. Overall, our companies are geared for superior quality, products and customer service. This addition will only advance that effort.”

Cody continued, “Consolidated Glass Holdings is very committed to this industry and will continue to build upon our platform companies through strategic and operational growth. We will continue to be very active in the marketplace.”

Grey Mountain will not take on any of Dlubak’s claims, liens, encumbrances or other interests, including debts, according to the purchase agreement. More than 200 creditors are listed in the court documents, including Allmetal, Bottero Flat Glass Inc., Bromer Inc., Bystronic, C.R. Laurence Co., Consolidated Glass Corp., DuPont, Glaston America Inc., PPG Industries, Precision Glass Bending Corp., Quanex, Solutia Inc., Trulite and Woods Powr-Grip.

In August, shortly after it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Dlubakannounced it would pursue a sale to a strategic buyer, naming Grey Mountain Partnersas the "stalking horse bidder." At that time, Grey Mountain had proposed paying $2 million for Dlubak's non-real estate assets.GGI, Oran Safety Glass Israel, OSG Inc. USA and Curbell Plastics filed objections to the sale, resulting in a court decision to hold the auction, September 23.

According to the court documents, “Stalking Horse Bidder [GGI] shall be paid a break-up fee in the amount of $60,000 from the proceeds of sale. If [Grey Mountain] fails to close on the sale, [Dlubak] is authorized to engage in a sale with Oran Safety Glass in accordance with the terms of Oran Safety Glass’ final bid at auction.”