Source: NECA/Rubie’s/The Toy Book

The gavel is about to drop on the auction for the assets of the Rubie’s Costume Co. as it prepares to emerge from Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection.

As reported last month, Rubie’s II LLC is leading the charge as the Stalking Horse bidder to take over operations of the company. In Court filing No. 375 yesterday, the general manager of Rubie’s II was revealed to be Joel Weinshanker, majority owner of Elvis Presley Enterprises; managing partner of Graceland Holdings; and the sole member, chairman, and founder of the National Entertainment Collectibles Association Inc., best-known to those in the toy industry as NECA.

Weinshanker is the “strategic operator” mentioned in the Aug. 4 filing with Wingspire Capital LLC and Atalaya, emerging as the “major, well-capitalized investment fund” that signed a letter of intent (LOI) to purchase the company on July 31.

Should the deal be approved, the Beige Shareholders (the current ownership) will take a 30% stake in the new company. Pending court approval, Weinshanker and Rubies II hope to complete the transaction by Sept. 30.

The one competing bid from another U.S. toymaker was determined not to be a Qualified Bid and was thrown out, paving the way for a sale to the Stalking Horse.

About the author

James Zahn

James Zahn

James Zahn, AKA The Rock Father, is Editor-in-Chief of The Toy Book, a Senior Editor at The Toy Insider and The Pop Insider, and Editor of The Toy Report, The Toy Book‘s weekly industry newsletter. As a pop culture and toy industry expert, Zahn has appeared as a panelist and guest at events including Comic-Con International: San Diego (SDCC) Wizard World Chicago, and the ASTRA Marketplace & Academy. Zahn has more than 30 years of experience in the entertainment, retail, and publishing industries, and is frequently called upon to offer expert commentary for publications such as Forbes, Marketwatch, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, USA Today, Reuters, the Washington Post, and more. James has appeared on History Channel’s Modern Marvels, was interviewed by Larry King and Anderson Cooper, and has been seen on Yahoo! Finance, CNN, CNBC, FOX Business, NBC, ABC, CBS, WGN, The CW, and more. Zahn joined the Adventure Media & Events family in 2016, initially serving as a member of the Parent Advisory Board after penning articles for the Netflix Stream Team, Fandango Family, PBS KIDS, Sprout Parents (now Universal Kids), PopSugar, and Chicago Parent. He eventually joined the company full time as a Senior Editor and moved up the ranks to Deputy Editor and Editor-in-Chief.

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