Build operations have been restored at the shipyard operated by Christensen Yachts the troubled US builder. More than 70 employees have been rehired as a US court-appointed receiver handling the matter has announced he wants to sell all or “substantially all” of the company’s assets to Henry Luken, a Tennessee businessman who already owns 50 percent of the company.
Aaron Corvin, the port & economy reporter at the newspaper The Columbian writes:
Court documents indicate the deal between the receiver, Miles Stover, founder and president of Turnaround Inc., and Luken may enable Christensen to avoid liquidation and to continue operations for the foreseeable future. Stover has restored operations at the company and re-hired more than 70 employees, according to documents filed with Clark County Superior Court.
Meanwhile, Ocean Alexander, a customer of Christensen’s, has won a court ruling that two unfinished hulls are not receivership property and that Ocean Alexander may remove them from Christensen’s site.
This week, in an unrelated action, a 50 metre yacht was moved out of the shipyard for placement on a barge and shipment to a Seattle shipyard for completion of construction.
As the reciever moves to sell assets to Luken for $5.5 million, court documents filed by the receiver indicate he found a financial mess after being appointed to take responsibility for Christensen. An investigation “revealed books of records that indicate a history of very weak internal controls, a general lack of segregation of duties, and non-adherence to generally accepted accounting principles.”
Under Stover’s proposal Luken would get control of contracts for the completion of hulls 36, 38 and 40. A fourth yacht, hull 42, may be excluded from the deal. Luken also would get control of Christensen’s land lease and a sublease.
The first sign of Christensen’s financial problems emerged in December 2014, when the company announced it was “currently working on a multipart ownership restructure.” In February, workers arrived one morning to start their day at the company only to find the gates locked again.