Bankruptcy Court approves all sales of East Coast Brokers & Packers assets

TAMPA, Fla., Sept. 6, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- After months of marketing, seven auctions and more than 13,000 man hours, the efforts to sell the assets of East Coast Brokers and Packers, the Madonia family and related entities have culminated in court approval of sales totaling more than $75 million.

Four live real estate auctions, an online real estate auction, two equipment auctions, and the private sale of a condominium resulted in a grand total of $75,097,134, which was approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court – Tampa Division Thursday, Sept. 5.

"This has literally been the most remarkable team effort of which I've ever been a part," said Murray Wise, chief executive officer of Murray Wise Associates. "This very complex group of assets required the combined efforts of Murray Wise Associates, Crosby & Associates, Woltz & Associates, and Weeks & Associates, who worked together seamlessly for months. Chapter 11 Trustee Jerry McHale and his staff at McHale, P.A., also put in endless hours and were great to work with," he said.

McHale told the court the auctions have exceeded expectations by every measure.

"By any yardstick you can come up with, this team has achieved more than anybody could have reasonably expected. This was an incredibly diverse group of properties, with farmland, luxury residences, processing plants and hundreds of machines, and it was a massive challenge just to organize it all. The creditors have recouped more of their investment than many people imagined. I could not be happier," said McHale.

The total excludes a $2.1 million bid for the Red Rose Inn & Suites in Plant City, Fla., which was rejected. "We have some people interested in buying the inn, and we still hope to get it sold, but we've just had our hands full up to this point conducting the auctions and getting the deals done," said Wise.

Murray Wise Associates LLC, headquartered in Champaign, Ill., with additional offices in Florida and Iowa, is a leading national agricultural real estate marketing and financial advisory firm.  

For more information:
Carl Carter, 205-823-3273

SOURCE Murray Wise Associates