CRG Provides $12.5M DIP Facility to FMI Aerostructures
Situation Overview
FMI Aerostructures, a key supplier to the F-35 Lightning II program, ran into an immediate cash-flow crisis. After traditional lenders declined to provide further funding, liquidation became a real possibility. A shutdown would have disrupted defense production and affected multiple defense contractors.
Financing Solution
Recognizing the mission-critical nature of the asset, CRG Financial committed as the DIP Lender, moving from initial engagement to a funded facility in just 11 days, an expedited timeline that bypassed the traditional committee delays of institutional lenders. CRG underwrote a $12.5 million Senior Secured DIP Facility designed to stabilize the business in real-time.
The credit facility was strategically structured as a “Priming” Senior Secured Lien, providing super-priority status and the working capital required to satisfy immediate administrative obligations. Unlike conventional lenders focused solely on liquidation floors, CRG underwrote the transaction based on the intrinsic value of the defense programs and the necessity of operational continuity, providing the vital “Confidence Bridge” required to stabilize the workforce and global supply chain.
Result
The funding was approved and deployed on an expedited timeline, providing the “bridge” necessary to stabilize the company. This resulted in a successful Section 363 sale to Avem Partners for $16 million, preserving the business as a going concern and ensuring the defense supply chain remained intact.
Deal Overview
- Total Facility: $12.5M
- Industry: Aerospace & Defense
- Court: U.S. Bankruptcy Court- District of Delaware
- Result: Successful 363 Sale
Professionals Involved
- Debtor Counsel: Ropes & Gray LLP and Chipman Brown Cicero & Cole, LLP
- Financial Advisor: Berkeley Research Group
- Investment Banker: Configure Partners
"This is really true rescue financing…CRG came forward when others wouldn’t."