Received a comment yesterday from "Cd" concerning Hines Nursery and the recent auction of property and materials.
Hines Nursery is one of the all time top search terms at this blog. Everyday people end up here trying to find out information on this once powerhouse of a company, so I thought it would be right to publish Cd's comment as a service to those people. I have not verified the information Cd sent, but have published his comment in the hope that we will hear form others concerning this.
Here is part of the comment, "the Hines bank auction was awarded back to black diamond for $31 million. Anyone knows what this means for the future of the company? My personal take is black diamond couldn’t be happier. From what I’ve heard they sucked the place dry before the auction by laying off salesmen, not canning new material, etc. They made a killing off that and now they got the company back for pennies on the dollars. $31 million is not pennies but if I remember correctly at the time of filing there were about $130 million and assets and $50 million in liabilities. They essentially bought an 80 million dollar company for 30. My guess is they continue selling off plants and sell the company off in pieces to continue maximizing profits. Which essentially means Hines is done. Again I am just speculating but does anyone think black diamond is in this for the long haul?"
While at the ANLA clinic this past month I had the opportunity to talk to a former Hines employee. He offered the information after he realized I write this blog. He said the information published at this blog concerning the whole Hines fiasco was correct, and for a awhile was the only place to get information on the company. So after these past few years of reporting on the Hines business it was good to hear this blog, and the information provided was so helpful.