Vivitar Corporation

The Company

Vivitar Corporation (Vivitar or the Company) is one of the world’s largest independent distributors of digital cameras, 35mm single lens reflex cameras, auto focus cameras, digital video cameras, multimedia players, flash units, binoculars, projectors, and camera accessories. Vivitar is one of the most recognizable brands in the camera industry.

The Situation

Vivitar’s parent, Syntax-Brillian Corporation (S-B), filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection July 8, 2008. Though not a debtor in the filing, Vivitar and its assets were part of the security package for S-B’s first lien senior secured lender (the Lender). Working together with the Lender, the main significant impaired creditor in the filing, Vivitar engaged KPMG Corporate Finance LLC to find a suitable buyer for Vivitar and create liquidity for the Lender. This objective was challenging due to two facts: Vivitar was operating with limited capital availability and would likely be forced to cease operations in the very near term if a buyer was not found, and until S-B’s bankruptcy filing, Vivitar had operated as a division of S-B with a limited amount of its own financial control or reporting capability. Consequently, Vivitar engaged KPMG Corporate Finance with the mandate to go to market, find a buyer, negotiate the best deal possible, and close a sale within eight weeks or be faced with the liquidation of the Company.

The Transaction

KPMG Corporate Finance conducted a competitive, expedited auction process that generated interest from several diverse counterparties, including liquidators, private equity firms, and strategic investors. KPMG Corporate Finance met the objectives of the Company and its Lender by closing a sale at the end of August, seven weeks after the Chapter 11 filing of Vivitar’s parent. KPMG Corporate Finance coordinated management meetings and due diligence, and assisted the Company and Lender in successfully negotiating a sale to Sakar International, Inc., a 30-year-old, family-owned consumer electronics manufacturer based in Edison, New Jersey. Despite the speed of the process, KPMG Corporate Finance exceeded the value expectations of the Company and Lender.