SBG Burger Opco is now a converted liquidation case centered on trustee investigation rather than operating reorganization, with Chapter 7 trustee Marie E. Henkel using Rule 2004 examinations to probe intercompany transfers, secured debt, asset sales, and related-party conduct across the Starboard management structure, as reflected in the Third Re-Notice of Rule 2004 Examination for Starboard Group HoldingsDkt. 1179 and related notices.
The debtor filed Chapter 11 on November 14, 2023, as part of a Wendy’s franchisee group that had operated 61 restaurants across five states, with the case opening through the Voluntary PetitionDkt. 1. Early-case filings identified a business under pressure from macroeconomic conditions and capital expenditure requirements, backed by prepetition obligations that included City National Bank of Florida debt and MidCap Funding Franchise Finance Trust facilities, as described in the Amended Levy First Day DeclarationDkt. 16. The restructuring path depended on consensual use of lender collateral rather than new-money DIP financing: the court later entered a Final Cash Collateral OrderDkt. 1033 authorizing use of MidCap cash collateral subject to a MidCap-approved budget, a 10% ordinary-expense variance, replacement liens, a section 507(b) superpriority claim, and waivers including section 506(c), with authority tied to a March 2, 2025 outside date or earlier termination event.
The case has since moved past operating stabilization into post-sale and investigative cleanup. The trustee’s April 2026 examination notices target Andrew Levy as corporate representative for multiple Starboard entities and seek documents from November 14, 2019 forward concerning intercompany transfers, the City National Bank and MidCap loan facilities, asset dispositions, franchisor-related sale issues, governance records, taxes, cash-flow information, and communications; the Third Re-Notice for Starboard Group ManagementDkt. 1182 also frames the inquiry around asset transactions involving 916 Florida Ops and Wendelta. The immediate milestone identified in the record was a May 7-8, 2026 sequence of Zoom examinations across the Starboard entities, including the Third Re-Notice for Starboard Group Administrative ServicesDkt. 1180, while the latest docket activity supplied is procedural: creditor EDC Services Group’s counsel sought leave to withdraw by negative notice in the Motion to Withdraw as CounselDkt. 1184.
