Emivest Aerospace’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization filing on October 20 revealed that the company has until January 14 to find a buyer or could face Chapter 7 liquidation. Any prospective buyer of the manufacturer of the SJ30 light jet would have until February 4 to close the deal. An initial Chapter 11 filing and failed reorganization followed by a Chapter 7 filing is not uncommon in the aerospace industry; it was the pattern during recent bankruptcies at now-defunct light jet makers Adam, Eclipse and Epic. However, Emivest indicated in its filing that it has several potential suitors for the company’s assets.
The maker of the $7.2 million SJ30 indicated that it could obtain up to $4 million in debtor-in-possession financing to keep its doors open and continue to support the four aircraft produced to date. Dubai-based Emivest purchased 80 percent of Sino Swearingen Aircraft in 2008 with plans to pump more than $1 billion into the company to restart serial production. While the company did deliver two aircraft in 2009, including one to actor/pilot Morgan Freeman, those grander plans never materialized and no aircraft were delivered subsequently. Three more aircraft currently are stranded on the production line.
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