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.

FMI: www.higgenbotham.com