YOUNGSTOWN CSC asks judge to schedule auction

The motion asks the judge to let assets be auctioned as a whole or in three parts, but not piecemeal.
By CYNTHIA VINARSKY
VINDICATOR BUSINESS WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- After months of waiting in vain for a buyer, CSC Ltd. is asking U.S. Bankruptcy Court to set an auction date in hopes someone will bid on the troubled steel mill.
Attorneys for CSC Ltd. filed a motion in U.S. District Court here Wednesday asking Judge William T. Bodoh to schedule an auction for 1:30 p.m. July 12 to sell the Warren plant and to consider approval of the sale at a hearing July 25.
Judge Bodoh has scheduled a hearing at 10 a.m. June 21 to consider the request.
CSC has been working with several prospective buyers but has been unable to reach agreement with any on a sale, the motion states. Company officials believe the auction of the facility as a whole would be the best way to maximize its assets.
Details: The motion asks that the auction be held in the Cleveland offices of Baker & amp; Hostetler LLP, the law firm representing CSC in its bankruptcy case. CSC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January and shut down operations in mid-April, idling more than 1,300 hourly and salaried workers.
The motion specifies that CSC would sell its land, buildings, equipment and supplies on an "as is, where is" basis, and in bulk only, not piecemeal. The company could, with consent of its lenders, agree to sell the assets in up to three sections.
If no successful sale results from the auction, the motion states, the company plans to convert the case to Chapter 7 and conduct a piecemeal liquidation.
CSC officials, local government officials and Local 2243 of the United Steelworkers of America, which represents the company's hourly workers, have all been working toward selling the plant as an operating unit to help save at least some of the jobs. Before its closing CSC was Trumbull County's fourth largest employer.
Requirements: Bidders would be required to submit a good faith deposit of $1 million, and the purchase would be for cash only and not subject to any conditions, including conditions based upon the bidder's ability to obtain financing.
The motion says CSC has been working for six months to find a buyer, has employed a McDonald Investments office in Cleveland to assist with the search, and has prepared and entered into numerous confidentiality agreements with prospective buyers. Several prospects have toured the plant.