March 1, 2000
Investors could get 40 cents on the dollar
___PHOENIX (BP)--Investors in the Baptist Foundation of Arizona might receive about 40 cents on the dollar as early as June under a liquidation plan filed Feb. 18 in bankruptcy court.
___That announcement came the same day foundation officials filed a $400 million lawsuit against their former executives, lawyers and the foundation's accounting firm, Arthur Anderson.
___A spokesman for the foundation estimated its assets will bring between $215 million and $220 million when sold. That falls short of the $590 million the foundation owes to about 11,000 investors.
___However, that amount could increase considerably if the lawsuit against former foundatoin officials and their lawyers and accountants is successful.
___The liquidation plan, filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Phoenix, called for an "orderly disposition of assets" of the foundation, many of which are in real estate. The plan requires bankruptcy court approval, and investors will vote on the matter, according to foundation spokesman Lew Phelps.
___The plan calls for the "immediate sale" of three properties in Alabama, Hawaii and Phoenix. Phelps declined to disclose the estimated worth of the properties to be sold at auction, including Pleasant Point, a 7,000-acre master-planned community near Phoenix.
___The new proposal has been praised by investors, who called the first redistribution plan a "scam." The original plan called for a $40 million cap on cash payouts to investors.
Send this story to a friend
Contents/ Masthead / Why We're Here / Links / Archive / E-mail us/ SUBSCRIBE!