Tupperware cancels auction of assets, lenders agree to takeover

Tupperware has reached a tentative agreement to sell its business just weeks after the kitchen products company filed for bankruptcy.

The private sale of the Tupperware name and its products to several key lenders, including Alden Global Capital, according to a company announcement on Tuesday.

Tupperware will pocket $23.5 million in cash and more than $63 million in debt relief in exchange for “all intellectual property” it needs to develop and market, as well as operating assets in the U.S. and abroad, the company said.

The proposed transaction is expected to close by the end of the month, pending court approval and other customary closing conditions, according to Tupperware. But, bankruptcy judge Brendan Shannon said the deal was likely the company's “best option in difficult and challenging circumstances,” Reuters reported.

The sale was disclosed at a bankruptcy court hearing in Wilmington, Delaware on Tuesday, the news agency reported.

According to Tupperware, “After years of struggling with an over-leveraged balance sheet and outdated operating model, the transaction will mark a new day for the iconic brand.”

The dawn of a 'new' Tupperware

The deal between the Florida-based company and its lenders strikes a middle ground, where lenders can use the debt cancellation as part of the purchase price while deploying capital Tupperware can use to pay off other debt, according to Reuters.

Tupperware President and CEO Laurie Ann Goldman said in a statement that the company has experienced “tremendous growth” over the past year and is “delighted” to have a group of investors that “share our vision and partner with us to grow.”

“Tupperware is considered the inventor of the party selling model and made the no-leak food preservation product famous,” Goldman said. -Light, and reserved a global footprint for the company.”

The “new” Tupperware company will shift its focus to serving “core global markets,” including the United States, Canada, Mexico and others. and will continue to “support entrepreneurship and more sustainable lifestyles”.

Customers can still purchase Tupperware products from the company's consultants, online and at retail locations in key global markets, Tupperware said.

The 'spark of inspiration' creates Tupperware

Tupperware Brands was founded in 1946. Massachusetts chemist Earl S. Tupper's first products debuted in the early 1940s when he had a “spark of inspiration” while making molds in a plastics factory shortly after the Great Depression, according to the company's website.

Shortly thereafter, Brownie Wise hosted the first Tupperware party at home, leading to her being named the company's vice president of marketing in the 1950s.

Over the following decades, Tupperware products became a staple in homes at home and abroad. The company, according to Reuters, has “relied too heavily” on independent sales representatives in recent years and has suffered as a result.

Contributed by: Gabe Howry and Jordan Mendoza