New Bidders Vie For WCHL

Editor’s Note: This story corrects an earlier version on this story that was in error in reporting that Bob Woodruff and Jim Heavner were part of VIM Acquisitions, LLC. It was formed solely by Mr. Holmes.

Multiple offers were put in to buy WCHL and Chapelboro out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy, on Thursday.

A court-appointed trustee will review the bids and make a recommendation to a judge on Friday, who is scheduled to approve the recommendation on Tuesday.

WCHL principal owner Jim Heavner said in an e-mail to staff that:

“My goal is clear: to have the best offer we can get from a buyer who will carry on WCHL’s community service and local programming.“

The following statement was released regarding the situation:

VilCom Interactive Media (VIM) has new ownership bidders, including a surprise bid on the eve of its being taken out of Chapter 11 by its current owners, which was planned for yesterday. VIM, part of VilCom, and the owner of WCHL and Chapelboro.com, is one of several entities that was caught up in the Chapter 11 filing of sister company University Directories (UD) last fall.

As part of the unwinding process, University Directories was successfully sold in April, but the litigation with Greg Lindberg, Eli Global and UDX, continues. The Print Shop, another part of the company, was acquired by VilCom partners Jim Heavner and Bob Woodruff last month.

Now, VIM, a sister company under the VilCom umbrella, is being sold. In this case, WCHL owners are both purchasers and sellers.

Several companies had indicated an interest in acquiring VIM. Out of that process, VIM Acquisitions, LLC, a new company was formed by Edward Holmes, a WCHL investor. Homes had come to an agreement with its trustee, attorney Rett Saslow of Greensboro, for its purchase to keep ownership local and that was to have been submitted to the bankruptcy court.

But, an unanticipated offer came in at the end of the day from Leslie Rudd Living Trust. He was unknown to the sellers and the court. It was comparable to the VIM Acquisitions offer, in that it was better in some respects and not as good in others.

As a result, the bankruptcy administrators, supported by attorneys for UD, recommended each buyer would have 48 hours—until today— to put the bids into a common form, with $100,000 security deposit, and that a bidding contest among the qualified buyers will take place tomorrow in the offices of attorney John Northen, whom Heavner had chosen to represent UD in the bankruptcy filing.

The trustee will submit the winning bid to the judge, who should approve it Tuesday.

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