No Sale
The Lake Amphibian Aircraft Company was up for auction at
AirVenture on Wednesday. The auctioneer sang out, "Three million
dollars - Who'll start the bidding at three million dollars?" No
one moved.
"To make a small fortune in aviation, start with a large one."
Potential bidders kept this advice in mind and their hands in their
pockets at the auction held by Higgenbotham Auctioneers
International. The auction was to sell all of the assets of the
Lake Aircraft Company, including the type certificates,
supplemental type certificates, spare parts, tooling and
fixtures.
The auction started with an explanation of all that was for
sale, the conditions of a sale, deposits required, and the singsong
banter that would be used. Then they got ready to "rock and roll"
as Marty Higgenbotham made a show of removing his jacket to get
down to business.
He started singing out his cadence and looking for an opening
bid of $20 million, then $10 million, then down to $5
million… He stopped occasionally to playfully chastise the
potential bidders for being stubborn or afraid to make the first
bid.
After a couple of awkward minutes of trying to get a starting
bid of $3 million he stopped. He told everyone to take a break to
ask questions or to make phone calls to the decision maker. The
keyboard player kept a rhythmic beat going as he played several
songs as people talked.
Higgentbotham returned and began again his song again, looking
for a starting bid of $3 million. It soon turned into a bit of a
tap dance. He's been doing auctions for 45 years, and he's been in
tough situations before. He gave it another shot.
He told the audience that it was time to get serious. He
restated the basics of what was up for bid, and implored people to
consider the opportunity, along with the inventory, tooling, and
intellectual property. He said he'd try one more time to get a
starting bid.
As he started singing out his auctioneer's song, the crowd just
sat. And sat. After about thirty seconds he called it quits,
thanked everyone for coming, and asked anyone interested in the
company to contact him directly.
"We didn't get it moved tonight,"said Scott Oglesby of
Higgenbotham. He said that they sell millions of dollars of
intellectual property each year. Once in a while they have a sale
that doesn't come off, but "most of the time we get them done." He
opined that they might even get more than what they were asking to
start the bidding.
Some potential bidders and some spectators talked about the
auction as they left. Opinions differed, but the consensus for
those attending was that the Lake Aircraft Company wasn't worth the
$3 million required by the auctioneers.
Some questioned the viability of the company, the value of the
parts, and the value of the type certificates. Others opined that
those with the money to buy don't have the interest and commitment
to run it, while those with the interest don't have the money.
"We'll work with the prospective buyers as well as a couple of
buyers who weren't here tonight, " said Oglesby. "We will sell it,"
said Higgenbotham.
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