Skagit Gardens seeks Chapter 11 protection to expedite sale of company

Skagit Gardens Inc., a bankrupt Washington state nursery, has found a potential buyer three months after federal securities regulators accused the company’s owner of fraud.

In court papers, Skagit Gardens’ lawyers identified a buyer affiliated with an Ohio gardening company as the first bidder to step forward, with an offer of roughly $6.2 million. They told a bankruptcy judge that they’ll continue to look for buyers with better offers.

Skagit Gardens officials intensified their search for a buyer in March after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued the nursery’s owner, Aequitas Management LLC. The lawsuit accused the Lake Oswego, Ore., investment firm of hiding its rapidly deteriorating financial condition from more than 1,500 investors who committed more than $350 million to the venture.

Read the rest of the story here.

And read more about the SEC case against Aequitas here.