PurchasePro proceeds available for claim

Professionals unwinding the final part of the 7-year-old bankruptcy case of PurchasePro.com are struggling with an unusual problem.

They fear they may not be able to reach all of the thousands of outside stockholders in the busted dotcom so they can share in any investment recoveries.

PurchasePro, a publicly held Las Vegas-based company, sold software licenses that enabled businesses to conduct Internet auctions for supplies and services. The Internet company ultimately landed in bankruptcy in September 2002.

Greg Garman, managing partner of law firm Gordon Silver, pursued claims on behalf of the company's creditors and secured payments from AOL Time Warner; Office Depot; AIG, which provided insurance for the officers and directors of PurchasePro; and other corporations.

Garman and PurchasePro trustee Lisa Poulin have distributed $23 million from those proceeds, repaying unsecured creditors all they were owed. Poulin is a senior executive with CRG Partners.

Poulin and Garman hold $2 million for shareholders with the exception of insiders, officers and directors at PurchasePro.

Finding those outside investors is an unexpected challenge because it's unusual for bankrupt dotcom companies to have enough cash to share with stockholders, Poulin said.

The bankrupt estate ran a legal advertisement in USA Today on Monday in an attempt to notify shareholders.

Meanwhile, the Nov. 3 deadline for investor claims is approaching.

Investors who held PurchasePro shares through a broker or banker must go through the broker or bank to file a claim for a share of the proceeds, said David Sharp, director of public securities for Kurtzman Carson Consultants, the claims agent for PurchasePro.

Registered beneficial owners who hold stock certificates or other documentation in their name should contact Kurtzman Carson Consultants at 904-807-3000.

Poulin expects checks to be mailed to eligible shareholders by March or later, ending the bankruptcy case. Officials will continue dealing with restitution payments from convicted former PurchasePro officers for years to come. About $20,000 has been paid out of millions owed, but some defendants may never pay anything.

Contact reporter John G. Edwards at jedwards@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0420.