Case 20-33332-KLP Doc 453 Filed 10/18/20 Entered 10/18/20 18:52:01 Desc Main Document Page 1 of 30
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Case 20-33332-KLP Doc 453 Filed 10/18/20 Entered 10/18/20 18:52:01 Desc Main Document Page 1 of 30 Steven N. Serajeddini, P.C. (admitted pro hac vice) Michael A. Condyles (VA 27807) KIRKLAND & ELLIS LLP Peter J. Barrett (VA 46179) KIRKLAND & ELLIS INTERNATIONAL LLP Jeremy S. Williams (VA 77469) 601 Lexington Avenue Brian H. Richardson (VA 92477) New York, New York 10022 KUTAK ROCK LLP Telephone: (212) 446-4800 901 East Byrd Street, Suite 1000 Facsimile: (212) 446-4900 Richmond, Virginia 23219-4071 Telephone: (804) 644-1700 -and- Facsimile: (804) 783-6192 David L. Eaton (admitted pro hac vice) Jaimie Fedell (admitted pro hac vice) KIRKLAND & ELLIS LLP KIRKLAND & ELLIS INTERNATIONAL LLP 300 North LaSalle Street Chicago, Illinois 60654 Telephone: (312) 862-2000 Facsimile: (312) 862-2200 Co-Counsel to the Debtors and Debtors in Possession IN THE UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA RICHMOND DIVISION ) In re: ) Chapter 11 ) LE TOTE, INC., et al.,1 ) Case No. 20-33332 (KLP) ) Debtors. ) (Jointly Administered) ) DECLARATION OF DANIEL PICKENS IN SUPPORT OF DEBTORS’ APPLICATION FOR ENTRY OF AN ORDER (I) AUTHORIZING THE RETENTION OF NFLUENCE PARTNERS AS INVESTMENT BANKER, EFFECTIVE AS OF AUGUST 2, 2020, (II) MODIFYING CERTAIN TIME-KEEPING REQUIREMENTS, AND (III) GRANTING RELATED RELIEF I, Daniel Pickens, hereby state and declare as follows: 1. I am the Principal of BA Securities, LLC (“BA Securities”), a Pennsylvania limited liability company. BA Securities does not have any affiliates. 1 A complete list of each of the Debtors in these chapter 11 cases may be obtained on the website of the Debtors’ claims and noticing agent at https://cases.stretto.com/letote/. The location of the Debtors’ service address is 250 Vesey Street, 22nd Floor, New York, New York 10281. KE 71895616 Case 20-33332-KLP Doc 453 Filed 10/18/20 Entered 10/18/20 18:52:01 Desc Main Document Page 2 of 30 2. I submit this declaration (this “Declaration”) in support of the application (the “Application”)2 of the debtors and debtors in possession in the above-captioned jointly administered chapter 11 cases (the “Debtors”) for entry of an order approving the Debtors’ employment and retention of Nfluence Partners as their investment banker effective as of the Petition Date, pursuant to sections 327(a) and 328(a) of the Bankruptcy Code [Docket No. 329]. Except as otherwise stated in this Declaration, I have personal knowledge of or have relied upon the knowledge of others employed by BA Securities with respect to the matters set forth herein. If called to testify, I could and would testify competently to the facts set forth herein. 3. Founded in 2010, BA Securities provides broker-dealer affiliation, registration, compliance, and licensing sponsorship services for experienced M&A intermediaries, investment bankers and private placement agents. BA Securities is a licensed Broker-Dealer in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) and the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (“SIPC”). 4. BA Securities provides Nfluence a broker-dealer platform from which to operate independently, without the time, aggravation and expense of maintaining a compliance and supervision infrastructure. 5. No BA Securities professionals are working on this engagement. Nevertheless, BA Securities ran a conflicts search for the entities identified by the Debtors as Potential Parties in Interest, attached hereto as Schedule 1. 6. Given BA Securities size—BA Securities employs approximately three individuals—BA Securities does not have a conflicts database. Rather, John Chuff, the President of BA Securities who has been with BA Securities since its formation, and myself reviewed the 2 Capitalized terms used herein but not otherwise defined shall have the meanings given to them in the Application. 2 KE 71895616 Case 20-33332-KLP Doc 453 Filed 10/18/20 Entered 10/18/20 18:52:01 Desc Main Document Page 3 of 30 Parties in Interest list to determine whether BA Securities had any connections identified by the Debtors. Through the information generated from the aforementioned inquiry, BA Securities determined that it does not have a client relationship with any of the parties listed on Schedule 1, with the exception that Wells Fargo, N.A. is BA Securities depository institution. 7. To the best of my knowledge, information, and belief, none of BA Securities’ professionals or other employees serves as an officer, director, principal, or other employee of Nfluence. To the best of my knowledge, information, and belief, none of Nfluence’ employees serves as an officer, director, principal, or other employee of BA Securities. 8. To the best of my knowledge, information, and belief, neither I, BA Securities, nor any partner or associate thereof, insofar as I have been able to ascertain, is a relative of a general partner, director, officer, or person in control of the Debtors. Further, to the best of my knowledge, information, and belief, neither I, BA Securities, nor any partner or associate thereof, neither insofar as I have been able to ascertain, is, or ever has been, a director, an officer, or an employee of the Debtors or their non-debtor affiliates. 9. To the best of my knowledge, information, and belief, neither I, BA Securities, nor any partner or associate thereof, insofar as I have been able to ascertain, have any connection with the U.S. Trustee, any person employed by the U.S. Trustee, or any Bankruptcy Judge currently serving on the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, except as disclosed or otherwise described herein. 10. To the best of my knowledge, information, or belief, neither I, BA Securities, nor any partner or associate thereof, insofar as I have been able to ascertain, owns any debt or equity securities of the Debtors. 3 KE 71895616 Case 20-33332-KLP Doc 453 Filed 10/18/20 Entered 10/18/20 18:52:01 Desc Main Document Page 4 of 30 I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing statements are true and correct to the best of my knowledge, information and belief. Dated: October 18, 2020 BA Securities, LLC /s/ Daniel Pickens _____________________ Daniel Pickens Principal Case 20-33332-KLP Doc 453 Filed 10/18/20 Entered 10/18/20 18:52:01 Desc Main Document Page 5 of 30 Schedule 1 Potential Parties in Interest Case 20-33332-KLP Doc 453 Filed 10/18/20 Entered 10/18/20 18:52:01 Desc Main Document Page 6 of 30 SCHEDULE 1 List of Schedules Schedule Category 1(a) Debtors 1(b) Directors & Officers 1(c) 5% or More Equity Holders 1(d) Bankruptcy Judges 1(e) Banks/Lenders/UCC Lien Parties/Administrative Agents 1(f) HR Benefits 1(g) Insurers & Surety Bonds 1(h) Landlords 1(i) Litigation 1(j) Post-Petition Parties 1(k) Potential Purchasers 1(l) Professionals 1(m) Taxing Authorities 1(n) Top Creditors 1(o) U.S. Trustee Personnel 1(p) Unsecured Creditors’ Committee 1(q) Utilities 1(r) Vendors Case 20-33332-KLP Doc 453 Filed 10/18/20 Entered 10/18/20 18:52:01 Desc Main Document Page 7 of 30 SCHEDULE 1(a) Debtors French Tote LLC Le Tote, Inc. Le Tote, LLC Lord & Taylor LLC LT Card Company LLC Case 20-33332-KLP Doc 453 Filed 10/18/20 Entered 10/18/20 18:52:01 Desc Main Document Page 8 of 30 SCHEDULE 1(b) Directors & Officers Ard, Amy Baker, Richard Beiswenger, Jana Blecher, Andrew Corrie, Pamela Fairbairn, Nicholas Fedorowycz, Mark Foulkes, Helena Gold, Stephen Graf, Neera Grasso, Jennifer Grundmanis, Elliot Harlam, Bari Hartman, Ruth Heaney, Patricia Hoke, Brian Kahn, Matthew Khare, Vijay Kwatinetz, Mike Lee, Suzanne Leigh, Janis Levy, Jeffrey Li, Theodore Mader, Kerry Metrick, Marc Miller, Lauren Moore, Bruce Nesbit, Kristen Novack, Mindy Pather, Sayen Perugini, Franco Putnam, Ian Record, Edward Roof, Becky Rosenthal, Lauren Schneider, Kurt Schwartz, David Sundar, Shyam Tagliani, James Zhang, Lu Case 20-33332-KLP Doc 453 Filed 10/18/20 Entered 10/18/20 18:52:01 Desc Main Document Page 9 of 30 SCHEDULE 1(c) 5% or More Equity Holders Accelerate-IT Ventures Fund I, LP Azure Capital Partners III, L.P. HBC US Propco Holdings LLC Northart, Brett Tondon, Rakesh Case 20-33332-KLP Doc 453 Filed 10/18/20 Entered 10/18/20 18:52:01 Desc Main Document Page 10 of 30 SCHEDULE 1(d) Bankruptcy Judges Huennekens, Kevin R. Kenney, Brian F. Kindred, Klinette H. Phillips, Keith L. Santoro, Frank J. St. John, Stephen C. Case 20-33332-KLP Doc 453 Filed 10/18/20 Entered 10/18/20 18:52:01 Desc Main Document Page 11 of 30 SCHEDULE 1(e) Banks/Lenders/UCC Lien Parties/Administrative Agents Adoni Group Inc., The Rugs America Corp. Arkansas Federal Credit Union Silicon Valley Bank B.H. Multi Color Corp. Sway Ventures Fashion II LP B.H. Multi Com Corp. TCG BDC II Inc. Bank of America NA TCG BDC Inc. Bass, Jason B. Temkin, Mildoris Beekman, Bernadette Tianhai Lace USA Inc. Cavallo, Steven Trinity Capital Fund III LP Central Valley Industrial Core Holdings Verderber, Maria LLC Wells Fargo Bank NA Cisco Systems Capital Corp. Wells Fargo NA Citizen Watch Co. of America Inc. Wildflower + Co. Inc. City National Bank Williams, Deshawn Corporation Service Co. WLXT LLC Criminal Court of the City of New York Xeros Inc. De Lage Landen Financial Services Inc. Diamonds Forever of USA Inc. Eloquence Corp. GE Capital Retail Bank GE Money Bank HBC US Propco Holdings LLC Hilco Merchant Resources LLC Hill, Bijon Horizon Credit II LLC Horizon Technology Finance Corp. IBM Credit LLC IKON Financial Services Klauber Brothers Inc.