Joseph Prebul's Chattanooga-area auto empire officially will end in coming weeks as Prebul Kia becomes Pye Kia, Prebul Volvo becomes Long Volvo and Prebul Infiniti becomes Kelly Infiniti.
Attorney Jerrold Farinash, the trustee appointed to oversee the sales of Mr. Prebul's car dealerships in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, confirmed Thursday that he had just signed the paperwork to transfer the "blue sky" franchise rights for Prebul Kia in Dalton, Ga., to Johnny Pye for $100,000.
"As far as resolution of the total case as a whole, we haven't moved any closer necessarily," Mr. Farinash said. "But as far as getting the dealerships closed out, others reopened and people re-employed, we are just about done."
Mr. Prebul is liquidating dealerships in Dalton and in Chattanooga as part of a Chapter 7 bankruptcy he launched after his February arrest on federal wire fraud charges.
Mr. Pye's Kia deal was the first to be sealed, according to Mr. Farinash.
Mr. Pye could not be reached for comment Thursday, but Mr. Farinash said the longtime Honda and Acura dealer planned to move the Kia operation to his existing location in Dalton.
He originally also sought to bid for the rights to Mr. Prebul's Mazda, Pontiac, Cadillac and GMC Truck franchises in Dalton, Mr. Farinash said, but GM shuttered its Prebul stores as part of its restructuring and Mazda declined to approve the sale.
The trustee said he plans to sell that dealership back to Mazda, but he declined to reveal the exact price. He said he would file paperwork in court outlining the sale next month.
Jason Medina, Mazda's Southeastern U.S. public relations representative, could not say whether the refusal indicates that the company plans to exit the local marketplace. He referred the question to corporate officials in California, who did not provide an immediate answer.
Though Chattanooga dealer Nelson Long had been in line to buy Mr. Prebul's Volvo and Infiniti stores, Mr. Long now is set to take only the Volvo store for $225,000.
"I expect to be executing documentation on that around July 6," Mr. Farinash said.
Mr. Long was out of town at a GM meeting Thursday and could not be reached for comment, according to his assistant.
The Infiniti franchise is expected to go to dealer Tim Kelly for $275,000, according to Mr. Farinash, and a hearing to get court approval of that transaction is scheduled for next Wednesday.
Mr. Kelly confirmed his bid but declined to discuss specifics of his plans for the store until after next week's hearing.
"Provided that it all happens the way that it should, we'll be in a position to talk more about it," Mr. Kelly said, explaining that he had offered a bid when he heard through a mutual friend that Mr. Long's deal may not have gone through.
"We were given the opportunity (to purchase an Infiniti franchise) back when they first came out in '88 or '89, but we passed," he said. "That's always been a regret of mine, so it's nice to be able to take another crack at it."
After Mr. Kelly's deal is finalized, still pending will be Prebul Kia of Chattanooga, Mr. Farinash said. Nelson Bowers of Bowers Transportation is set to pay $300,000 for the rights to sell Kias here, the trustee said, but he won't receive official approval until he has worked out whether or not he'll be able to buy Mr. Prebul's existing Kia lot on Chapman Road.
Also still up in the air is the sale of Prebul Chrysler Jeep Dodge, which Chrysler had ordered to close as part of its bankruptcy case in New York. Mr. Farinash has filed a motion in U.S. Bankruptcy Court here in Chattanooga asking a local judge to rule the corporation in contempt of court for failing to ask the judge's permission to intervene in the matter.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge John C. Cook already had approved a $40,000 bid from Carl Gregory to purchase the franchise.
Chrysler has yet to respond to Mr. Farinash's motion in court, but a spokeswoman told the Times Free Press that the company intends to maintain a presence in the Chattanooga area. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for July 16, court records show.
WHAT'S NEXT
* A hearing on Tim Kelly's bid to purchase the rights for Prebul Infiniti is scheduled for June 24.
* A hearing on Jerrold Farinash's contempt motion involving Chrysler LLC is scheduled for July 16.
Dealership transfers approved or in the works
* Kia in Dalton: to Johnny Pye for $100,000
* Volvo in Chattanooga: to Nelson Long for $225,000
* Infiniti in Chattanooga: to Tim Kelly for $275,000
* Kia in Chattanooga: to Nelson Bowers for $300,000
Defunct transfer deals
* Pontiac, Cadillac and GMC Truck in Dalton: to Johnny Pye (would have been included in $100,000 Kia bid)
Deals still uncertain
* Chrysler Jeep Dodge in Chattanooga
