Complex Summer Camp Sales Win Bankruptcy Court Approval

A New Jersey bankruptcy judge Monday approved sales of more than two dozen U.S. summer camps, capping an intense, complicated and emotionally charged process that lawyers said saved the camps from closing this year while generating nearly $448.8 million to repay creditors.
“This case, although not one of the largest, presented some of the greatest challenges I’ve been a part of,” said Michael Sirota, an attorney representing debtor SIMAD Holdings, who has been practicing for 40 years. He thanked the judge, her staff, the court clerk’s office and many other professionals for their work.
The free-fall bankruptcy ultimately helped to “avoid potentially catastrophic impacts” on the camping season for the roughly 20,500 kids who attend the debtor’s 30 camps every summer, Sirota said.
Overruling a couple of remaining objections, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christine M. Gravelle said she would approve the sale orders as they rolled in, telling debtor’s counsel they had “done a great job.”
She agreed with Sirota that while larger Chapter 11 cases tend to be more about economics and financials, this case has been unique due to the camps’ legacies and impact on families through the decades.
The judge also said she appreciated that parents wrote to her with their concerns. More than 230 users were logged on to Monday’s hearing, conducted via Zoom.
The transactionsapproved Monday include a $120.75 million winning offer from hedge fund FitzWalter Capital Partners (AIV) II LP for the most prominent of the properties, Mohawk Day Camp in New York City’s northern suburb of Westchester.
The firm beat out stalking horse bidder Grandview Ventures Group LLC, an entity backed by Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav. The sale of Mohawk specifically was not discussed during Monday’s hearing.
The future of the camps was thrown into turmoil when SIMAD suddenly hit bankruptcy June 4 with a large debt load amid financial problems that still have not been fully explained. Investigations are ongoing.
The Chapter 11 case of sister company DAMIS Holdings, which holds various interests in malls, warehouses, amusement parks and other real estate, is moving more slowly, as are the individual Chapter 11 filings of the brothers who owned the two companies, Michael and David Shabsels.
In SIMAD’s case, the sale process was “one of the most complex…. imaginable” and has secured buyers for 27 of the 30 camps so far, said another lawyer for SIMAD, Flice Yudkin.
Rather than one sale process, the case has effectively involved separate sales for each camp, all with different marketing strategies and asset purchase agreements, she said.
“These were not merely parcels of real estate,” Yudkin said. “The strong emotional and institutional connections associated with these properties required a thoughtful and tailored approach.”
Among other sales approved Monday was Summit Camp and Travel, which serves special needs children. It sold to an entity affiliated with its current director, Shepherd Baum, for $4.8 million. Another bidder objected, alleging the process was not clear and asking Judge Gravelle to review the auction, but the objection was overruled.
There were also differing accounts of the sale of Camp Lavi, a longstanding Modern Orthodox Jewish camp in Pennsylvania that is being sold to the Ohel Children’s Home and Family Services Inc. for $8.75 million.
A committee of parents initially objected, saying they wanted to make a $10 million bid, but then withdrew their objection after the buyer assured them during discussions that “the historical structure and fabric of Camp Lavi will be preserved,” according to a letter that their lawyer, Daniel M. Stolz, filed on the docket on Monday morning.
During the hearing, Isaac Nutovic, who is representing Ohel, said the nonprofit “will try as best as we can to keep the fabric of that camp to the way it was. But there are no guarantees at this time.”
Stolz did not appear at the hearing.
Nicole Torrillo-Smith, whose two daughters are attending Camp Echo with their friends, said the approval of the sale was “wonderful news.” She and some other parents were initially concerned that the stalking horse bidder, which was also Ohel, might change the camp significantly, but Ohel did not win the auction for Camp Echo.
She said in an email to Law360 that the other parents she has talked to are “thrilled that Camp Echo is staying as it has been (at least as far as we know), but most importantly, Jeff and Cindy Grabow are remaining as directors!”
The debtor is represented by Michael D. Sirota, Warren A. Usatine, David M. Bass, Felice R. Yudkin and Daniel J. Harris of Cole Schotz PC.
The case is In re: SIMAD Holdings Ltd. et al., case number 3:26-bk-16388, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey.

To read the full article, click here.