Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1914-09-25
CLAFLTN CREDITORS
ADOPT FINAL PLANS
FOR REORGANIZATION
Creditors Will Get IS Per
Cent. in Cash and Balance
in Interest-bearing Notes.
Forming New Corporation.

Final plans for the reorganization OF
the II. b. Clafin Company, which re-
| Gently went into the hands of receivers,
| have been completed and will be pre-
| sented today for final approval by the
| Merchandise Creditors Committee, which
will meet In New York. James s. Alex
ander, president of the National Bank
Of Commerce, is chairman of the Note
holders Committee which formulated
the plans.
Failure of the Clanin Company was
one of the worst blows received by the
business world for many years. Tho
company operated a chain of % large
stores throughout the country and
millions of dollars of its paper was out
standing at the time of the collapse. A
large amount Of this paper was held in
Philadelphia.
the Claf1n creditors shall receive is per
cent. in cash and the balance in three
year interest bearing collateral notes
of a newly organized corporation, re-
newable for another two years.
This new company will be known as
the Mercantile Stores Corporation and
1t will acquire the assets of the H. B.
Ildliil company, tne assets OF JOHN
Claflin or such portion of them as may
be deemed by the committee to be ad-
vantageous, including all of the capital
stock of the % companies now In the
hands Of receivers, all Of the capital
stock of McCreery &c Co., of Pittsburgh;
of, the Wilkes-Barre Dry Goods Com
pany, and of MacCallum & Clouthier;
$2,290,650 par value of the capital stock
of the Scruggs Vandervoort, Barney
Dry Goods Company (S2.103,6 $50 of COM
mon and S1S7,OOO of preferred). 100000
par value Of the capital stock of the
Higbee Company, 100000 par value COM
mon capital stock of James H. Durham
& Co., s6,26S,O0O par value OF the com
mon stock of the United Dry Goods
Companies and other assets and equi-
ties owned by John Clafin, which have
been transferred to representatives of
the noteholders' committee for the benefit
of the Mercantile Corporation.
THE NEW CORPORATION.
The Mercantile Corporation will cause
to be organized new corporation to be
known as "The H. B. Clafn Corpora
ticn," to carry on such portion of the
business now conducted by the
H. B. Claflin Company, New Jersey
as may be deemed by the board
of directors to be advisable 1t Is con-
templated that there will be transferred
to this new corporation approximately |
S. 100000 Of assets of the present H. B.
Clafiin Company in exchange for its
capital stock, all of which will be owned |
by the Mercantile Corporation. The value |
Of the, assets transferred to the H. b. |
Cla1in Corporation shall be as agreed |
upon by its board of directors and the |
board of directors of the Mercantile Cor |
ooration,
The notes will be dated December I, 1914, |
md will be issued in "a separate series,
1ne series to be delivered to the general
creditors of the II. b. Clahin Company
md each of the other % series to be de-
ivered to the holders of notes executed
~ one of the several companies and in
lorsed by the II. b. Clafin Company.
The collateral trust notes will be Sc
ured by stock collateral to be deposited
lnder a trust agreement with the trus-
ees to be selected by the committee. The
totes received by the direct II. b. Clafin
company creditors will be secured by
ne-siXth of the capital stock of the
proposed ii. b. Clahin Corporation, the
Wholesale trading company.
Each of the remaining % series Of coll
ateral trust notes. being the notes re-
eived by the noteholders, will be Sc
ured by the entire capital stock of the
articular company. which executed the
otes to be exchanged for the new notes.