With days left before their New Jersey movie palace is set to close, iPic has not one but two suitors seeking to buy the company’s assets as part of ongoing court proceedings.
Jersey Digs reported some sad news earlier this year about iPic Theaters LLC, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida. The company operates 13 dine-in theater locations and eight restaurant units nationwide, with the Fort Lee location within the Hudson Lights complex as its only Garden State location.
A New Jersey WARN notice, along with the filing, listed an effective closing date of May 28 in the paperwork it submitted to the New Jersey Department of Labor. But per a Law 360 report, iPic has received a $5 million offer from Texas-based Star Cinema Grill to purchase its assets.
In addition to the initial offer, paperwork filed in the Southern District of Florida bankruptcy case revealed that iPic has received an additional $6 million offer for its assets from Cinemex. The competitor provided a proposed stalking-horse purchase agreement, modified from Star Grill’s initial stalking-horse agreement.
iPic declared up to $10 million in debt when it filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, listing total assets of about $155.3 million and liabilities totaling $113.9 million. The company also estimated it owed about $141,000 in taxes and about $2.7 million in total unsecured claims.
While it is unclear how the court proceedings will play out, two offers to purchase the iPic assets are certainly positive news for the Fort Lee location. The theater features a full-service restaurant that allows guests to order complete meals to their seats during films, and also sports a full bar with cocktails, wine, and beer.
iPic Fort Lee is still operational for now despite plans to shut down at the end of this month. The company has not announced any plans to extend the announced closing date at this time.
