Airfreight carrier Evergreen International Airlines filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on Dec. 31, 2013.
The airline, which is based in McMinnville, Ore., filed its petition in Delaware Bankruptcy Court. It listed as much as US$100 million (73.3 million euros) in assets and US$500 million (366.6 million euros) in liabilities.
Some creditors filed papers Dec. 17, 2013, in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Brooklyn, N.Y., seeking to force Evergreen to pay its bills, according to Bloomberg.
James Patton, an attorney in Wilmington, Del., represented Evergreen International in its bankruptcy proceedings. Patton did not answer multiple phone calls from Air Cargo World.
Nobody answered calls placed to the main contact number of Evergreen International.
Financial problems have long plagued Evergreen International. In November 2013, the airline published a statement from Delford M. Smith, CEO of Evergreen International Aviation.
“As has been previously reported in the press, Evergreen’s business has been adversely impacted over the past several years by decreased demand in military spending and weakness in global economic markets,” Smith says. “Management has moved to aggressively address these challenges, including through the divestiture of businesses and assets and the significant reduction of secured debt. Evergreen is in discussions with its significant constituencies and is exploring available strategic alternatives with those constituencies.”
In March 2013, Evergreen International Aviation announced that it had agreed to sell Evergreen Helicopters, Inc. to Erickson Air-Crane Incorporated. Under the terms of the stock purchase agreement, Erickson acquired EHI in a transaction valued at up to US$276.3 million (202.6 million euros).