Furniture Today,
Keeps operating with new financing

NETTLETON, Miss. – PeopLoungers, which is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, will continue operating despite an effort by a Mississippi bank to get the motion furniture producer to sell its assets.

Attempting to force a sale was the Bank of New Albany, which has a lien on PeopLoungers’ land, equipment and building here. But the company argued in federal bankruptcy court recently that it is in the best interests of all to keep the business operating.

The company also told the court that Capital Business Credit is providing several million dollars to keep it going and said it opposed the sale.

The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal in Tupelo quoted Peoploungers attorney Craig Geno as saying, “The lender has agreed to support us during this time frame, and we’d like to see how we do on our own without worrying about pressure to sell. Now, if a really good offer comes through, we’ll certainly consider it, but we want to continue to operate. And we’ve got a chief restructuring officer who has a lot of experience.”

In its filing for Chapter 11 protection under the U.S. bankruptcy code, Peoploungers said it owed it top 20 creditors nearly $5.7 million. The company’s sales are about $50 million, down from $94 million in 2003.