The Chapter 11 cases of Never Slip Holdings, Inc. and its debtor affiliates have been dismissed following the completion of a section 363 sale of substantially all assets, closing out a fast-track restructuring that ran from an April 1, 2024 petition to a September 30, 2024 dismissal.
Never Slip Holdings — a CCMP Capital Advisors–sponsored manufacturer of slip-resistant footwear operated through the Shoes for Crews brand — filed for Chapter 11 in the District of Delaware Voluntary PetitionDkt. 1 after a sustained liquidity deterioration. Founded in 1984, the company had grown to serve more than 30,000 corporate accounts, including 95 of the top 100 U.S. restaurant brands, selling roughly four million pairs annually through B2B payroll-deduction programs, direct-to-consumer channels, and wholesale relationships. By late 2023, however, softening hospitality demand, inflationary cost pressure, a consumer shift to online channels, and COVID-19's lingering effects on the company's core restaurant and hospitality customer base had driven the debtors into defaults and forbearance under their second lien and Irish credit facilities, precipitating the filing First Day DeclarationDkt. 16.
The debtors entered the cases carrying approximately $470 million in funded principal debt across four prepetition facilities: a $282.2 million first lien credit facility, a $147.3 million second lien facility, a $19.9 million Irish credit facility, and a $20.8 million sidecar facility DIP Financing MotionDkt. 13. On the petition date the debtors sought approval of a $30.8 million DIP financing package from Antares Capital LP — a $30 million term loan and an $800,000 letter of credit facility — with an initial $20 million interim draw and a contemplated roll-up of roughly $90 million in prepetition first lien and sidecar obligations. The DIP facility imposed aggressive milestones, requiring an immediate marketing process, a sale motion within five days, and an auction within 45 days of the petition date.
The restructuring proceeded along a sale-and-dismissal track rather than through a plan of reorganization. Within days of filing, the debtors moved under sections 105, 363, and 365 to approve bidding procedures, entry into a stalking horse purchase agreement, and a process for resolving challenges to the liens and claims of the prepetition first lien lenders Sale MotionDkt. 70. The court approved the stalking horse purchase agreement and authorized the sale of the debtors' assets free and clear of liens, claims, interests, and encumbrances, together with the assumption and assignment of certain executory contracts and unexpired leases, by order signed May 24, 2024 Sale OrderDkt. 268. The sale closed on July 1, 2024, and consistent with the debtors' stated goals of a stalking-horse sale followed by post-sale dismissal, the Chapter 11 cases were dismissed on September 30, 2024.
