First Brand files Chapter 11

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Oct 10, 2025 | 06:27 PM

fortitude

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From: CA

First Brand files Chapter 11

First Brands Group, LLC—a major automotive aftermarket parts conglomerate—recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The filing occurred on September 29, 2025, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. This move has sent ripples through Wall Street due to the company's massive debt load and concerns over opaque financing practices, potentially exposing billions in losses for lenders like Jefferies, UBS, and BlackRock.

Assets. $1 billion to $10 billion
Liabilities. $10 billion to $50 billion (primarily debt from invoice financing and loans)
Debtor Entities. First Brands Group, LLC and 20+ affiliates
Pre-Filing Support. $24.5 million emergency bridge loan from first- and second-lien lenders to cover payroll and operations during transition

Reasons for the Filing

Core Issue: Over-reliance on "invoice factoring"—selling customer invoices for quick cash—but with irregularities. Filings reveal the same invoices were pledged multiple times to different lenders (e.g., double- or triple-counting), hidden off the balance sheet. This led to a liquidity crunch when refinancing talks collapsed in late September.
Other Factors:
- High debt maturities: Over $4 billion in first-lien loans due in March 2027.
- Operational Strains: Economic pressures on consumers (e.g., fewer car repairs amid high interest rates) and internal mismanagement.
- Rating Downgrade: Fitch dropped the credit rating to 'CCC' in late September, signaling distress.

Brands Under First Brands Group, LLC

Centric Parts - Brake pads, rotors, and other braking system components.
Raybestos - Brake parts, including pads, rotors, and calipers.
FRAM - Oil, air, and fuel filters.
Carter - Fuel pumps and assemblies.
PetroClear
StrongArm - Lift supports for hoods, trunks, and hatchbacks.
ANCO - Wiper blades and refills..
Champion Labs- including luberFiner filtration
Airtex fuel pumps
AutoLite
Cardone
Draw-Tite
Reese
Wesbar
Bargman
Bulldog
Trico Wipers
Carlson - quality brake parts (some International Brake Indusutries parts)
Fulton
Hopkins
Tekonsha

Operations: Despite the Chapter 11 filing, these brands continue to operate as First Brands restructures, with court-approved funding to maintain production and distribution.

Updated.

Last edited by fortitude; Oct 10, 2025 at 08:00 PM.

Oct 10, 2025 | 06:59 PM

LeX2K

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Joined: Sep 2010

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From: Alberta

Where did you get this info? Federal Mogul owns Fel-Pro and Moog. NGK doesn't belong on that list either and probably others.

Oct 11, 2025 | 09:31 AM