Featured Articles

Beyond Auctions and Appraisals

You know us. We're Daley-Hodkin, and for more than three decades America's leading financial and corporate institutions have turned to us for valuations of fixed assets, real estate, inventory, intellectual properties, goodwill and contractual and non-contractual relationships.

What you may not know is how much more there is to the Daley-Hodkin team. How much more we can do to help you achieve your goals.

As we worked closely with asset-based lenders and consultants, we saw that there was a need for our expertise in law and accounting. And so we added to our team, increased our knowledge base and expanded our service offerings.  And now, we want you to know there is so much more to Daley-Hodkin.

Accountants can utilize our services for FAS 141/142 valuations; estate tax valuation; purchase price allocations; and insurance valuation. Daley-Hodkin will determine the values for tangible and intangible assets and determine the liabilities of a newly acquired business enterprise. Our experience allows us to produce the kind of credible and defensible analyses that accountants rely upon.

Attorneys face a different set of needs when it comes to valuations. Needs Daley-Hodkin is uniquely qualified to meet. Our litigation support team will work with clients from inception to testimony, backing them up with real-world analysis that stands up to scrutiny. The same with Daley-Hodkin estate tax valuations. Our team makes determinations, expertly and with credence, and then presents the findings in a professional manner that will reassure all parties involved.

Asset-based lenders are familiar with our core services of collateral valuations, liquidations, auction and consulting services. We have helped companies around the world determine value, course of action and taken charge of diverse situations, bringing them to a fruitful close.  At the foundation of Daley-Hodkin are these simple facts: we have a philosophy of putting the client first; our over 30 years of expertise is respected throughout the world; our attention to detail creates a supportive working relationship; and our very varied expertise in a broad spectrum of industries means we can be of assistance in any category. No matter who you are -- lender, accountant, attorney or business executive, our services and experience can be brought to bear on your projects.

So, you see, there's more to Daley-Hodkin than you may have thought!  And that’s an appraisal that’s been well-earned.

Tales from the Field…

By Terry Paddack

So what can be bad about spending most of the months of November and December in Tampa, Florida? Well, to begin, it wasn’t a vacation. It was work. Still, Tampa in late fall isn’t a bad place at all.

We were asked to consider an auction for a semiconductor company. The company had been in bankruptcy and had been trying to self-liquidate their assets. Our client (the lender) decided it was time to end the process and consulted us on the best methodology to finalize a sale of the remaining assets.

Our first order of business was to inspect the 100,000 square foot facility to determine what assets were left.

Once we determined that there were a significant number of assets remaining, we determined that an auction sale would be the best way to proceed.

One major task confronted us, we knew there were at least five major parties that had encumbered assets at the facility and we needed to determine who “owned” what. With the help of the company, we started a two week paper trail until we felt reasonably comfortable as to who “owned” what.

Since the bankruptcy court had allowed the company to self liquidate we discovered, to our surprise, that few of the remaining assets belonged to our client. Although the assets were few in number, however, we felt there was significant value in those assets and an auction sale was still the proper methodology.

We were given a very short time frame of about one month to advertise the sale, attempt to contact the “secured”  parties to determine if they wanted to participate in the sale, and lot and book the assets that were to be included. During this early process the case was converted to Chapter 7 and a trustee was assigned.

Environmental concerns were also an issue. In particular there was one machine that had the potential to be very dangerous and needed to be decommissioned and cleaned prior to sale. However, the lender claiming ownership had not commissioned anyone to service the machine, and it was a potential “sleeping giant” that was always looking over our shoulder.

Well into our lotting and booking process, a major roadblock was thrown at us. All of the parties involved could not reach agreement with the landlord concerning rent, utilities, and the condition of the building once the auction sale was completed.

Due to these impediments, an auction sale was suddenly impossible, as a new “shortened” timeframe confronted Daley-Hodkin. Our only alternative was an “immediate liquidation” of an approximate three week duration.

We immediately took to the phones and e-mail to begin the marketing to generate interest in the sale. We arranged for a quick e-mail blast and a color brochure mailing. We had one week, if you consider the week of the Thanksgiving holiday a usable week.

On December 1st we were back at the facility and had to impose a deadline of December 11th to accept bids. We were also required to be out of the facility by December 23rd.

Branch Ricky, the famous owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers, once defined luck as the “residue of design”. With that definition in mind, we had a very successful and “lucky” sale for our client and for Daley-Hodkin. Our luck was through “design” and a lot of hard work.

All things considered, it wasn’t so bad being in Tampa for November and December. It could have been somewhere in the Snow Belt.

Corporate Mergers...What if?

What would happen if some of the world’s largest corporations merged?

1. XEROX and WURLITZER
(They're going to make reproductive organs)

2. FAIRCHILD ELECTRONICS and HONEYWELL COMPUTERS
(The new company will be called Fairwell Honeychild)

3. POLYGRAM RECORDS, WARNER BROTHERS and KEEBLER
(The new company will be called Poly-Warner-Cracker)

4. W.R.GRACE CO., FULLER BRUSH CO., MARY KAY COSMETICS, and HALE BUSINESS SYSTEMS
(The new company will be called Hale, Mary, Fuller, Grace)

5. 3M and GOODYEAR
(The new company will be called MMM Good)

6. JOHN DEERE and ABITIBI-PRICE
(The new company will be called Deere Abi)

7. HONEYWELL, IMASCO and HOME OIL
(The new company will be called Honey, I'm Home)

8. DENISON MINES, ALLIANCE and METAL MINING
(The new company will be called Mine all Mine)

9. 3M, JC PENNEY and THE METROPOLITAN OPERA COMPANY
(The new company will be called 3 Penney Opera.)

10. GREY POUPON and DOCKER PANTS
(The new company will be called Poupon Pants)

11. KNOT'S BERRY FARM and THE NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR WOMEN
(The new company will be called Knot Now)

12. ZIPPO MANUFACTURING, AUDI, DOFASCO and DAKOTA MINING
(The new company will be called Zip Audi Do-Da)

13. NETSCAPE and YAHOO
(The new company, whose HQ will be in Israel, will be called Net 'N' Yahoo)

14. COORS and BETTY CROCKER
(Their chief product will be called Pisquick)

15. GUCCI and GOODYEAR
(The new company will become GucciGoo)