Dive Brief:
- Some trucking industry lenders are exposed to financial turmoil following a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filed last month by the second-largest alcohol and wine distributor in the U.S.
- First American Commercial Bancorp is among the largest creditors listed in the petition as having a $47.2 million unsecured claim for equipment leases.
- RNDC also noted approximately $7 million in unpaid principal and interest for equipment loans from “various banks and financing counterparties,” John Castellano, the company’s chief restructuring officer, said in an Aug. 3 disclosure.
Dive Insight:
Texas-headquartered RNDC has been breaking up its assets to help continue operations, such as multistate market deals with Reyes Beverage Group in May and Columbia Distributing in June.
While RNDC layoffs have occurred throughout the country this year, the company said in a statement its deals before the bankruptcy preserved over 5,000 jobs. Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification announcements in Texas and Michigan, for example, involved over 1,900 and 641 layoffs, respectively, according to state databases.
The Chapter 11 process, designed for reorganization, is nevertheless still helping RNDC wind down and liquidate its operations, according to the disclosure statement. The distributor also said it’s still exploring the sale of its company.
“The court-supervised process is intended to give us the time and flexibility to continue working with parties that have expressed an interest in acquiring our other markets and conduct an orderly wind down of our remaining operations,” the company’s statement said.
The No. 2 distributor had faltered in its growth, trying to take a hold in the California market before exiting it in June 2025, and suffered from declining sales after a surge during the COVID-19 pandemic, Castellano said in the disclosure.
The distributor’s supply chain, once consisting of 1,800 vehicles, was part of an expansive supply chain fulfillment network featuring automated systems in warehouses and the ability to deliver products with 24-hour turnarounds, Castellano noted. A federal database listed its private commercial vehicle fleet as having 895 power units in late January with 883 drivers.
An Aug. 20 master service list cited Daimler as an equipment loan lender and also included an attorney representing Truist Equipment Finance.
The equipment financing parties are a sliver of the 100,000-plus creditors owed over $1 billion in estimated liabilities. The July 26 voluntary petition estimated assets are less than that but at least above $500 million.
