Univita Assets To Be Auctioned To Pay Creditors
A multimillion-dollar auction will sell off the assets — from forklifts to electric wheelchairs — of Univita Health Holdings, a Miramar-based company that laid off 1,000 workers this summer and then filed for bankruptcy.
The telephone auction will be conducted Nov. 11 by Boston’s Tiger Capital Group. It is intended for businesses buying in bulk.
Univita filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in late August after Chief Financial Officer Jack Greenman said in a letter to employees that the company didn’t have enough cash to keep operating. Univita’s board of directors said it was in the best interests of Univita — as well as its subsidiaries, creditors and employees — to go out of business and liquidate the remaining assets, according to court filings.
“This auction represents a unique opportunity for multiple healthcare industry entities — including medical home care providers, pharmacies, infusion services, visiting nurse organizations, rental service companies, and wholesalers — to acquire turnkey operations or to expand their existing business,” John Coelho, senior vice president of Tiger Remarketing Services, said in a written statement.
Already, Integrated Home Care Investors, a company based in Miami-Dade, has submitted a $2.5 million bid for “a substantial portion of the assets,” according to Tiger Capital Group.
Integrated Home Care’s president, Jorge A Pereda, could not be reached Monday for comment.
Univita’s inventory for sale includes manual and power wheelchairs and scooters, oxygen systems, portable generators, patient lifts, patient beds, walkers/canes, nebulizers and ventilation systems. There are also supplies such as masks, hoses and connectors.
Some of the equipment is new and still in warehouses, Coelho said.
Others are being used by patients in their homes, he said. Tiger Capital hopes to sell the rented equipment to companies that plan to maintain and lease it to the current users, Coelho said.
Univita also has office and computer equipment as well as a fleet of 90 vehicles, including Isuzu diesel box trucks, vans, pickup truck and cars — some as new as 2012.
The sale also includes warehouse equipment, such as forklifts, electric and hydraulic pallet jacks, shelving, ladders and generators.
Other major assets being auctioned include an oxygen refilling station in Orlando and a data center in Miramar, which cost $5 million in 2014, Tiger Capital said in a written statement.
After the auction, Tiger Capitol will have an online auction for unsold items, beginning Nov. 13 at SoldTiger.com.
The sale will generate cash to pay Univita’s thousands of creditors
The company had Medicaid and Medicare contracts and operated 13 facilities in Florida, Tennessee and Georgia.
A catalog of the items on sale is at SoldTiger.com.
For more information contact Coelho of Tiger Remarketing Services at jcoelho@tigergroup.com.
