Tupperware, maker of iconic food containers, has agreed to sell its business to a group of lenders for US$23.5 million in cash and over US$63 million in debt relief, cancelling the open market auction.
- The New York listed firm had earlier filed for bankruptcy with US$818 million in debt and a plan to find a buyer within a month.
- A faction of Tupperware’s lenders opposed the sale plans, seeking to claim the assets for themselves. The lenders in the dispute are owed about US$460 million, making the majority of the company’s long-term debt.
- On Tuesday, the lenders and Tupperware reached an agreement-in-principle in which lenders will purchase the business in cash and credit, with the transaction set to close by end of October, subject to court approval and other customary closing conditions.
The current agreement will see the lenders purchase the company’s brand name and operations in multiple key markets – “all intellectual property” needed to create and market as well as operating assets in the U.S and abroad.”
The Florida based company has faced years of dwindling sales as their products slowly lost popularity with consumers with failed attempts of improving distribution. The current global awareness to embrace environment sustainability has also contributed to the declining sales in plastic products.
“After years of struggling with an over-leveraged balance sheet and outdated operating model, the transaction would mark a new day for the iconic brand,” Tupperware said.
Customers can still purchase Tupperware products from company consultants, online and at retail locations in the core global markets.
Tupperware is listed at the New York Stock Exchange impending delisting to continue trading on the Over the Counter Expert Market.
The company was founded in 1942 by Earl Tupper, a chemist, who designed airtight seals to help families save money in the hard economic times that followed World War II.
The launch of its products in 1942 begun an entire sub-ecosystem, as it was the first practical solution to the problem of food storage. It also had its critics from the onset, who argued that it was a gendered product.
