The on again, off again saga of the Malden Mills bankruptcy appears to be winding down this week, with a new exit date set for the middle of the month. Company chairman Aaron Feuerstein has another window of opportunity to close on a deal that will enable him to maintain control of the company.

Feuerstein needs about $92 million to acquire a majority stake in the company once it emerges from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, but was only able to land $20 million of the $35 million in loan guarantees required for the necessary funding.

In a new twist, WinnCompanies has agreed to build 600 rental-housing units on one million square feet of Malden Mills property in exchange for partial ownership of the company. Feuerstein and Winn would have “equal shared control” according to a local paper, but Feuerstein would maintain ownership of a majority of the company.

The offer has not met the approval of the Malden Mills board of directors, but a company spokesperson said in the report that this was the “critical equity portion” of the financing Feuerstein was trying to line up.

There is no word from the board as to whether or not the deal will be accepted, but Andrew Schwartz, an attorney for the unsecured creditors, told a local paper, “We’ve always been clear if and when such a thing happens, it’ll have to be given consideration.”

In other positive news, the U.S. Senate has given Malden Mills a financial boost with a $19.2 million defense contract, a 38% increase over the previous $11.8 million deal, which ends this week. Malden will receive $13 million of this budget to produce Extended Cold Weather Clothing System Polartec garments.

While these garments are nothing new, and similar to those currently being worn by U.S. Marines, Special Forces, Army and Air Force personnel, Malden has been allotted $3.0 million for research on developing garments with biosensors that would help medics assess battlefield casualties.

Sports Executive Weekly’s sister publication, The B.O.S.S. Report, reported (BOSS_0336) that this new “Smart Apparel” is being researched in the private sector by The Innovation Network, and companies like Nike, adidas, and GoLite. With this military funding increasing, we should be seeing some big steps taken in this field.

The remaining portion of the contract will go towards multi-climate garments, like those used by aviators and Naval crews today.

>>> Feuerstein’s friends in Congress haven’t forgotten what he did for his employees — and their constituents — after the crippling 1995 fire that closed operations and, in part, led to the filing…

The on again, off again saga of the Malden Mills bankruptcy appears to be winding down this week, with a new exit date set for the middle of the month. Company chairman Aaron Feuerstein has another window of opportunity to close on a deal that will enable him to maintain control of the company.

Feuerstein needs about $92 million to acquire a majority stake in the company once it emerges from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, but was only able to land $20 million of the $35 million in loan guarantees required for the necessary funding.

In a new twist, WinnCompanies has agreed to build 600 rental-housing units on one million square feet of Malden Mills property in exchange for partial ownership of the company. Feuerstein and Winn would have “equal shared control” according to a local paper, but Feuerstein would maintain ownership of a majority of the company.

The offer has not met the approval of the Malden Mills board of directors, but a company spokesperson said in the report that this was the “critical equity portion” of the financing Feuerstein was trying to line up.

There is no word from the board as to whether or not the deal will be accepted, but Andrew Schwartz, an attorney for the unsecured creditors, told a local paper, “We’ve always been clear if and when such a thing happens, it’ll have to be given consideration.”

In other positive news, the U.S. Senate has given Malden Mills a financial boost with a $19.2 million defense contract, a 38% increase over the previous $11.8 million deal, which ends this week. Malden will receive $13 million of this budget to produce Extended Cold Weather Clothing System Polartec garments.

While these garments are nothing new, and similar to those currently being worn by U.S. Marines, Special Forces, Army and Air Force personnel, Malden has been allotted $3.0 million for research on developing garments with biosensors that would help medics assess battlefield casualties.

Sports Executive Weekly’s sister publication, The B.O.S.S. Report, reported (BOSS_0336) that this new “Smart Apparel” is being researched in the private sector by The Innovation Network, and companies like Nike, adidas, and GoLite. With this military funding increasing, we should be seeing some big steps taken in this field.

The remaining portion of the contract will go towards multi-climate garments, like those used by aviators and Naval crews today.

>>> Feuerstein’s friends in Congress haven’t forgotten what he did for his employees — and their constituents — after the crippling 1995 fire that closed operations and, in part, led to the filing…