Reports indicate the U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Christopher Lopez on Friday, April 10th signed an order approving the sale of First Brand Group's intellectual property related to the wipers, filters, plugs, and lift products to Premium Guard Inc. (PGI) for $25 million.
As part of the sale, PGI will assume certain liabilities and pay a portion of net sales over time that is valued at around $20 million.
First Brands filed for bankruptcy in September of 2025 and in January of 2026, the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and other company executives were indicted for fraud related to the company's indebtedness. Facing a liquidity crisis, the company began shutting down its production facilities across the country and laid off more than 3,500 employees. One of those was the Champion Labs plant located in Albion in Edwards County in southeastern Illinois where over 1,000 employees lost their jobs.
With the sale acceptance, it is not known what exactly will be done with the Albion location or others.
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