USA: Bankrupt Pittsburgh Brewing Co. declared it will come out with a rescue plan before November 30

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review published November 22 that bankrupt Pittsburgh Brewing Co. promised November 21 that it will present the financing plan it needs to survive at a upcoming court hearing.

The Lawrenceville brewery is working on a deal for $7 million to $10 million in financing, attorney Robert O. Lampl told U.S. Bankruptcy Judge M. Bruce McCullough. The brewery reportedly will have the financing plan ready at a November 30 hearing on its reorganization plan.

An investment group outside of Pittsburgh - but one that has been involved in financing deals in the region - is interested in offering the historic brewery the money, Lampl said, following the hearing on November 21. He declined to identify the investors or what they would receive for their money.

When Pittsburgh Brewing last month filed its reorganization plan, it said it needed $7 million in new financing. McCullough, though, said the plan "would not fly" and that the company actually needs about $12 million to succeed.

The brewery, maker of Iron City and IC Light, has kept the beer flowing since it filed for bankruptcy in December.

With the prospect of presenting a permanent financing plan next week, the brewery postponed until then its request for a temporary line of credit of up to $500,000 from businessman Craig Newbold of East Liverpool, Ohio.

The brewery will need that money for a few months, Lampl said. The line of credit was delayed earlier this month by opposition from creditors, who want a plan for permanent financing.

Pittsburgh Brewing President Joseph R. Piccirilli has maintained he will remain in control when the historic brewery emerges from bankruptcy, said spokeswoman Tracey Perles.

Pittsburgh attorney Donald Calaiaro, who represents minority owner Jack P. Cerone, declined to comment whether a new investor might buy out Cerone's 40 percent share in the company. Cerone also owns the trademark rights to Pittsburgh Brewing's brands.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau once again held off on its demands that Pittsburgh Brewing post a bond to cover the excise taxes on the beer shipped from the brewery.

Although the bureau has said it is willing to wait until November 30 to see Pittsburgh Brewing's financial arrangements, it wants to know at that time what the company will do about posting a bond, Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Skirtich told McCullough.

"The agency is skittish, to say the least," Skirtich said.

If the brewery misses five days of payment, it could fall behind on taxes on $75,000 worth of production, he said.

Pittsburgh Brewing is required to post a bond, or provide a security deposit, to cover 10 percent of its annual excise tax - between $3.2 million and $3.4 million, Skirtich said. The company has made payments in a timely manner since November 03, he said. The brewery, though, must cover $48,000 in checks returned for insufficient funds.

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