Platinum Group, a business advisory firm based in Minnetonka, Minn., reports it has completed leading the sale of the assets of Tiger Oak Media Inc., a Minneapolis-based publisher of print magazines, on behalf of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Minnesota. Tiger Oak filed for protection from creditors under Chapter 11 in October 2019.
The Chapter 11 trustee appointed to oversee and direct Tiger Oak’s operations, Stinson LLP’s Edwin Caldie, retained Platinum Group in April 2021 as exclusive advisor to research, contact and negotiate with potential buyers. A nationwide marketing effort identified four separate buyers for Tiger Oak’s four business divisions, and all four divisions remained operational, and continued paying employees and vendors, at all times during and after the sale process. Platinum Group led the marketing, due diligence, and sale processes from start to finish for the benefit of all stakeholders. The Chapter 11 trustee stated he was, “deeply impressed by Platinum Group’s expertise, focus on value, and specific knowledge of the publishing sector,” and believes that “Platinum Group’s unique skills and experience materially increased returns for creditors in the case.”
Tiger Oak’s Seattle Magazine and Seattle Business were purchased by Seattle-entrepreneur Jonathan Sposato, chairman and co-founder of GeekWire. Tiger Oak’s eight bridal magazines including California Wedding Day, Minnesota Bride and Wisconsin Bride were sold to Bear Holdings LLC of Rice, Minn. Tiger Oak’s seven Twin Cities-area community lifestyle magazines including Edina Magazine, Minnetonka Magazine and Woodbury Magazine were sold to Artful Living LLC of Minneapolis. And Tiger Oak’s cluster of seven “Meetings and Events” magazines including those serving California, Michigan, Minnesota and Texas, were sold along with its custom publishing unit to Hour Media LLC of Detroit. Platinum Group’s Dale Kurschner and Pat Brennan worked on this project. (Full-disclosure, Kurschner produces this site).
Platinum Group also reports the sale of Rancher’s Legacy Meat Co. and the acquisition of Furst-McNess Co. by Easy USA Holdings Inc.
Rancher’s Legacy Meat Company is a Vadnais Heights, Minn., based producer of high-quality beef and pork products that retained Platinum Group as its exclusive advisor to locate, negotiate and close the sale of the company. A nationwide marketing effort located a strategic group interested in entering this market, and Platinum led the company in the due diligence process and through to a close for the benefit of stakeholders. Platinum Group’s Pat Brennan and Rod Peterson worked on this project.
Furst-McNess is a 112-year-old family owned, Freeport, Ill.-based livestock nutrition company with 12 major facilities in eight states and Canada. It was one of several businesses Platinum Group found while researching potential acquisitions for its client, Easy Holdings Co. Ltd., a Seoul, Korea-based publicly traded, vertically integrated agricultural business with $1.5 billion in annual sales from 50 subsidiaries worldwide. On behalf of Easy Bio and its newly formed U.S. subsidiary, Easy USA Holdings based in Oskaloosa, Iowa, Platinum Group conducted research and analysis, initial negotiations and due diligence before guiding final negotiations through to a transaction beneficial to both buyer and seller. Platinum Group’s Dean Bachelor, Ron Leaf and Dale Kurschner worked on this project.
About Platinum Group
Platinum Group provides customized services for business owners in need of turnarounds, buy- or sell-side assistance and other advisory services for middle market clients in a wide range of industries including agricultural, health care, manufacturing, service and distribution. Over the past 40 years the firm served more than 1,000 clients in the Upper Midwest.