Effective April 25, 2011, the assets of Cummings Inc., The International Sign Service (Nashville, TN) were sold through a lender foreclosure and the company has become CITISS Inc., according to a letter sent by the Board of CITISS to a junior creditor in the U.S.
Business assets have been sold to a new owner and all equity in the company was lost; no assets were available to pay junior creditors after paying the senior lender and administrative expenses in the transaction. Employees will maintain their positions under the new ownership.
The board noted its regret that no additional assets were available to pay junior creditors. The letter states that “all business operations and substantially all of the assets of the Company [formerly Cummings] were sold in an arm’s length transaction to meet obligations due to the Company’s senior secured lender, which was a national finance company. The proceeds from the sale of assets were insufficient to meet all of the contractual obligations due to the senior lender.”
The senior lender took a loss on the deal and all equity in the company was lost, according to the letter. The CITISS board “remains determined to adhere to its fiduciary obligations to junior creditors. There simply are no additional assets to administer for junior creditors.”
Junior creditors have been advised to contact Robert J. Mendes, MGLAW, PLLC, 2525 West End Avenue, Suite 1475, Nashville, TN 37203 regarding insolvency and company wind-down.
The sale was performed under Section 9-610 (“Disposition of Collateral After Default”) of the Uniform Commercial Code. The company cited the economy as a factor in its financial difficulties.
The Cummings website, www.cummingssigns.com, remains active, with no official announcement posted yet. The company’s founder, Thomas L. Cummings, Jr., began the business in 1946.