Winning bidder emerges in B.A. Ballou auction

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Winning bidder emerges in B.A. Ballou auction

By Michelle Graff

May 01, 2009

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East Providence, R.I.--WRC Management LLC emerged as the winning bidder in the auction for the assets of jewelry findings manufacturer B.A. Ballou, an attorney involved in the case told National Jeweler.

Rick Land, an attorney for Winograd, Shine and Zacks and the court-appointed permanent receiver in the case, said WRC Management outbid two other companies on Wednesday to obtain all the operating assets--including the name--of B.A. Ballou, a 140-year-old East Providence, R.I.-based findings manufacturer.

WRC Management is an affiliate of 132-year-old Cranston, R.I.-based manufacturer W.R. Cobb Co.

Land said the purchase price is a combination of the market price of all the precious metals contained in the facility at the time of closing, a commission on sales over a six-month period and a cash payment.

Like nearby jewelry manufacturer The Colibri Group, whose assets were sold at auction in March, the poor economy and financial strain forced B.A. Ballou into receivership in March, a legal action in which a court-appointed receiver takes charge of the company's assets and financial affairs, forcing the company to close its doors for a period and bringing about this week's auction.

According to the agreement, WRC Management can operate out of B.A. Ballou's facility for a four-month period and, to date, the company has hired back 65 of B.A. Ballou's approximately 111 employees.

Land said he is not sure, however, what WRC Management's plans are for the company in the long term.

"I don't what their long-term plans are," he said. "I don't know if they've settled on them."

But for now, the company is up and running, as it has been for the past several weeks, and is working to fill orders, he said.

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