Bankruptcy judge rules Sea Dog sale can continue

BANGOR – The potential buyer is still a mystery but a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge Monday cleared the way for the sale of the Sea Dog Brewing Co. Judge Louis Kornreich approved a motion to expedite the sale and set a hearing on the proposed deal for Wednesday, Dec. 11.

Sea Dog Ventures Inc., a Portland-based entity whose members are remaining anonymous, has offered $1,194,100 for the three restaurant leases and assets, according to court documents. That’s $50,000 more than Sea Dog Brewing owes its creditors, bankruptcy trustee Pasquale “Pat” Perrino Jr. told Kornreich Monday.

Perrino said that the pressure is on to sell Sea Dog Brewing quickly because the $70,000 annual insurance premium on the restaurants is due Dec. 12 and there are no assets to make the payment. Perrino said no other offers have been made to purchase the company.

In approving Perrino’s request, the judge also approved a clause that would force others interested in buying the company to bid $75,000 more than Sea Dog Ventures had offered. Kornreich’s ruling also made it virtually impossible for someone to purchase just one of the three locations – Bangor, Topsham and Camden. The potential buyer would have to negotiate separately the three leases with the landlords of the properties.

Robert Keach, a Portland attorney representing Sea Dog Ventures, said during a recess that his client was a Maine-based business, but refused to give any more information about the firm. However, he told the court that WWN Group, Sea Dog Brewing’s primary debtor, also is securing the financing for Sea Dog Ventures.

The financially troubled brewing company closed its restaurants earlier this month after its request to lower its debt to its primary creditor was denied. Sea Dog Brewing, which initially sought to reorganize under Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, has since filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, paving the way for the liquidation of the business’s assets.

In 1994, the city of Bangor gave Sea Dog owner Peter Camplin a favorable $19,475-per-year lease on the former shoe-assembly plant building with the stipulation that the structure be renovated.

If the company came under new ownership, the city would have the right to negotiate a new lease, said Bangor City Solicitor Norman Heitmann last week. A new owner also would have to repay an estimated $36,000 in outstanding lease and tax payments.