From Beckett.com

Fleer to Liquidate Remaining Assets
6/21/2005 4:21:53 PM

June 20, 2005, Mt. Laurel, New Jersey: Fleer/Skybox International, L.P. and Fleer Collectibles, LLC, purveyors of sports and entertainment trading cards and collectibles, respectively, have announced that they have each executed Assignments for the Benefit of Creditors under New Jersey Law, conveying all of their respective assets to Warren J. Martin Jr., an attorney with Porzio, Bromberg & Newman, P.C., Morristown, New Jersey. Martin specializes in bankruptcy and insolvency matters.

Pursuant to his obligations under state insolvency law, Martin, as Assignee, will oversee the assets of the two companies and will be required to preserve and protect assets, maximize asset values through public or private sales approved by the court, and distribute the proceeds of asset sales to creditors fairly, in accordance with legal priorities. Creditors will be provided with an opportunity to file claims.

Martin has stated that he looks forward to speaking to creditors and interested parties about the issues in the proceeding: “My job is to be the representative of the creditors, to make sure that assets are fairly liquidated to pay creditor claims.”

Martin also announced that he expects to shortly file three motions with the court. The first, in the Fleer/Skybox proceeding, will be to sell the Fleer/Skybox tradename, the second, in the Fleer Collectibles proceeding, will be to sell the entirety of the die cast (miniature vehicles) business, and the third, will be to sell numerous “game used” and autographed items, including a large inventory of autographed sports cards. All of these proposed sales will be subject to higher and better offers.

Separately, Martin is analyzing “redemption card” issues and requests that individual customers not return their “redemption cards” to Fleer at this time. Those holding “redemption cards” should check Fleer’s website, www.fleer.com for further information.

Sports card rival Upper Deck wins auction to take over Fleer

Associated Press

MOUNT HOLLY, N.J. - Sports card company Upper Deck has won an auction to take over rival Fleer's name and its toy car business.

Upper Deck, of Carlsbad, Calif., bid $6.1 million in Thursday's auction for the intellectual property and die-cast toy business of debt-ridden Fleer. Superior Court Judge Ronald Bookbinder approved the sale on Friday.

Saddled with nearly $40 million in debt, Fleer went out of business in May. Lawyers for the Mount Laurel-based company said that the rising costs associated with putting sports memorabilia into packs of cards, coupled with dwindling interest in the hobby, led to the company's demise.

Upper Deck, like most of the main players in the sports cards business, is privately held.

Upper Deck burst onto the scene in 1989, when the hobby was at its hottest, and introduced $1 packs of cards on high-quality stock with top-notch photographs.

In 1995, as baseball and baseball card collecting were smarting from a strike, the company started putting premium goodies, such as swatches of uniforms, into cards. Card-watchers say the move revolutionized collecting.

Fleer's remaining memorabilia - items ranging from a uniform from Japanese home run king Sadaharu Oh to a box of baseballs signed by retired pitcher Sparky Lyle to pingpong balls used in an NBA draft lottery - is to be auctioned off later.

The proceeds from that auction and the one held Thursday will go to a list of creditors that includes dozens of professional athletes.

Press Release Source: Continental Auction Group


Fleer Public Auction Sale Scheduled
Friday August 5, 10:00 am ET


MOUNT LAUREL, N.J., Aug. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Continental Auction Group, a leading national auction firm specializing in commercial assets for lenders, insolvency professionals, corporations, etc., announced today that it has been retained by Warren J. Martin Jr., Esq., Court appointed Assignee For The Benefit of Creditors of Fleer Corporation LLC (Fleer Trading Cards) to conduct a public auction sale of the tangible assets and has set the date of the sale to be held on September 9, 2005. The auction will be held at the Radisson Hotel 915 Route 73 Mt. Laurel, New Jersey. Inspection will be held on the prior three days at the offices of Fleer, 1120 Route 73 Mt. Laurel, NJ 08054.

Up for bid will be Fleer's extensive corporate collection of memorabilia including a game-worn uniform by the all-time professional home run hitter Sadaharu Oh, game-worn and autographed uniforms from Basketball, Baseball and Football. Thousands of autographs, balls, cards, original art and ephemera will be sold. The company's extensive photo library (both digital & physical) with upwards of 1.2 million images will be offered. Also crossing the block will be the office furniture, fixtures and equipment, all in a one-day event.

"This will be a large and exciting public auction sale. We expect bidders from around the world to be interested in the historical items from this company," said Randy Fridkis, President of Continental Auction Group. Complete catalog and bidder registration requirements will be posted at the Continental Auction Group website, http://www.auctionsaleinfo.com , as it becomes available. Pre-Registration is available (and recommended) through this site.

About Continental Auction Group: Continental Auction Group conducts sales of assets that are surplus to ongoing business operations. From its headquarters in North Palm Beach, Florida, auction management teams travel the nation to conduct auction sales at the location of the assets wherever they may be. The events are mostly traditional live oral auctions with award winning Auctioneers. The auction presentation utilizes the latest in digital and Internet technologies to reach the widest possible range of potential buyers.

Continental Auction Group can be reached regarding this project at 561-775-3032 or by email at: fleerauction@auctionsaleinfo.com .