Milwaukee-based First Edge Solutions may be purchased out of chapter 128 receivership by an affiliate of World Marketing Inc., which has submitted a bid to buy the assets of the company.
Bobby Kraft, president and chief executive officer of First Edge, and a group of investors in October acquired World Marketing, a marketing and direct mail subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway. They moved World Marketing’s headquarters and administrative operations to 1301 W. Canal St. and created four new positions. Kraft serves as CEO of the company, which has about 450 employees at its Atlanta, Chicago and Dallas plants and its St. Louis office.
First Edge, which filed a petition in Milwaukee County Circuit Court for receivership in July, is a multi-channel communication, print and document management provider with production facilities in Phoenix and Atlanta and satellite offices in Chicago, New York and St. Louis. It has 75 employees, 52 of whom are based in Wisconsin.
About 35 creditors have filed claims in the pending receivership case. In a separate case filed in April, First Edge was ordered to pay more than $20,000 owed to Waukesha-based MRA The Management Association Inc.
As part of the potential sale, First Edge has filed notice with the state that it will close its Canal Street headquarters and lay off 44 employees beginning on October 13. However, the proposed buyer has promised to offer employment to “substantially all” of the laid off employees, according to First Edge.
First Edge, according to its WARN notice, had been working to secure capital over the past few months to delay or avoid the closure, but was unable to do so.
“The company anticipates that its assets will be sold as a going concern through the receivership proceedings, and its objective is to secure a sale of the company’s assets by which the buyer, if any, agrees to hire all or substantially all of the company’s employees,” the filing says. “Please note, however, that First Edge has no control over, and will have no involvement in, any employment opportunities that employees may have with the eventual buyer, if any.”
Founded in 2003, First Edge attributed its receivership filing to the impact of the changing health insurance industry, which was a core part of its business.
“We’re hopeful this deal comes together to protect what had been a successful company prior to the changes in the health insurance industry,” Kraft said. “The decision to file receivership was difficult but necessary. It has given us the time and framework to reposition the company while we’ve continued to operate our business and serve our clients.”
In May 2014, the company acquired Milwaukee-based Proven Direct, an on-demand marketing, document output services and photo book publishing company, and moved its headquarters to 1301 W. Canal St. in Milwaukee.
The court will decide the winning bidder for First Edge’s assets. Court-appointed receiver Michael Polsky could not be reached for further information about the bid process.
