Equidon Contractors Seeks Liquidation

Financially troubled Equidon Contractors, attempting to repel an onslaught of mechanics liens and lawsuits, filed for liquidation Friday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Santa Ana. The assets and debts of the Irvine-based construction company were not stated in the court papers. However, Ken Klee, attorney for John Parker, the sole owner and shareholder of the company, said that its debts surpass its assets by “at least $3 million.” More exact information is expected to be filed with the court within the next two weeks.

Klee said that Equidon Contractors and its former corporate parent, Equidon Cos.--which also has filed for bankruptcy--were hurt by overbuilding of office space in Southern California. According to court documents filed last month, Equidon Cos. has $20 million in assets and $142.5 million in debt, although part of that debt may be shared with development partners.

Couldn’t Wait for Tenants

The main problem, Klee said, was that office buildings that Equidon Contractors built, and in which Equidon Cos. was part owner, simply failed to attract enough leases. Unlike larger developers, Klee said, Equidon did not have the financial wherewithal to wait “three or four years” for the space to be absorbed by tenants.

Klee said that Equidon Contractors, which has constructed about $250 million worth of office and industrial buildings in Southern California since 1980, chose bankruptcy as a last resort after an attempt to find a financially strong buyer for the company fell through and the company failed to reach an understanding with its major lenders.

Late last year, Klee said, Parker, who was the majority owner of Equidon Cos., acquired all of the stock of Equidon Contractors from Equidon Cos. in payment for a loan that he made to the parent company.