Published: November 25, 2008 11:03 am      

Coachmen sale estimated at $42M

MIDDLEBURY – Rival RV manufacturer Forest River is offering $42 million in cash for Coachmen Industries’ recreational vehicle group.

The purchase price was included in Coachmen’s paperwork filed with the Security and Exchange Commission Monday.

Coachmen announced the purchase offer last week. The offer will have to be approved by the company’s shareholders. A shareholders meeting will be scheduled for mid- to late December.

Before then the company’s executives will discuss the sale with analysts and shareholders Dec. 1 in a conference call. That conference call will be available online at 2 p.m. at www.coachmen.com.

Coachmen has been hit hard by the downturn in consumer spending. The combination of high fuel prices early this year and the tightening of the consumer credit market has pushed its sales dramatically downward.

The company’s net sales for the third quarter were $74.8 million, compared to $123.8 million in the same quarter in 2007. Coachmen lost $16.1 million in the quarter despite a $8.4 million drop in operating expenses. The company had a net loss of $24.9 million in the third quarter of 2007.

Also, company secretary Thomas Gehl said last week that short selling of Coachmen’s stock has been prevalent on the New York Stock Exchange this year. The company’s stock closed at 97 cents per share Monday, down 11 cents from Friday’s close.

After the sale the new Coachmen will consist of its All-American Homes division and its specialty vehicle division.

Forest River is a subsidiary of Berkshire-Hathway. It keeps its headquarters in Elkhart and has local plants in Middlebury, Millersburg, Elkhart and Goshen.