BANGOR, Maine - California-based Hackman Capital Partners today submitted the winning bid of $5.4 million for the shut-down Great Northern Paper mill in East Millinocket at a public auction in Bangor.
The bid is scheduled to go before U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Louis Kornreich at 1 p.m. today.
According to its website, Hackman Capital Partners was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Los Angeles. The company is described as a privately-held, asset-based investment firm that focuses on the acquisition of industrial real estate and the purchase and sale of industrial equipment.
Hackman was one of five entities that bid on the mill. The other bidders included GNP Acquisition LLC, which submitted the so-called "stalking horse" bid of $2.6 million, AIM, Mac-Butler and Maybid LLC.
Hackman spokeswoman Sharon Kopman says she's not sure whether the mill will reopen. "All options are open," she told reporters gathered at the Bangor auction. "We don't know what's going to happen at this point in time."
Hackman currently owns more than 270 facilities throughout the United States, and has conducted hundreds of equipment acquisitions, dispositions and liquidations on four continents, according to the company's website.
Great Northern's paper machines went idle in January, and later, the mill laid off more than 200 employees. The company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection on Sept. 22. Cate Street Capital of New Hampshire had been managing the mill.
Hackman spokeswoman Sharon Kopman told reporters that the mill's future is still up in the air. "Obviously, it's a very sad moment because people have lost their jobs," she said. "We'll be working with everybody to try and make this as smooth a transition as possible."
Jay Field contributed reporting to this story.