The real estate portfolio of United Furniture, aka Lane Furniture, is being sold off as part of the company's Chapter 11 bankruptcy ruling.

The Lane Furniture’s real estate properties are situated in Mississippi and North Carolina.

The sale includes 14 of Lane Furniture’s warehouses and manufacturing facilities – and over 5 million square feet and 700 acres of real estate. The sale will conclude at an auction scheduled for late June. B. Riley Real Estate is leading the sale.

Stalking horse bids, which are initial bids on the assets of a bankrupt company that sets the low-end bidding bar, will be accepted through May 12, 2023. The portfolio will be sold at a concluding auction, tentatively scheduled for late June 2023. Formal bidding and sale procedures were filed with, and are subject to the approval of the Bankruptcy Court.

KEY DATES
Stalking Horse Bid Deadline: May 12, 2023
Designation of Stalking Horse(s): May 19, 2023
Deadline to Submit Bid on Individual Properties: June 8, 2023
Advise Bidders of any Qualified Bids: June 15, 2023
Proposed Date of Auction: June 20, 2023

To learn more about the sale process, visit www.brileyre-UFI.com.

Midnight termination
On Nov. 21, 2023, approximately 2,700 United Furniture Industries employees found out that they were unemployed after learning by midnight email that the company was closing and that they were not to report to work.

The workers received the following statement: “Due to unforeseen business circumstances, the company has been forced to make the difficult decision to terminate the employment of all its employees effective immediately on Nov. 21, 2022, with the exception of over-the-road drivers that are out on delivery. Your layoff from the company is expected to be permanent and all benefits will be terminated immediately without the provision of COBRA."

United Furniture Industries was the parent company for Lane Home Furnishings, which was ranked #35 on the FDMC300 list of the largest woodworking companies in North America.