The saga of green-tech darling Nexii Building Solutions has ended with a court-approved bankruptcy sale of the company and its debts to two Americans.
According to a BC Supreme Court approval and vesting order, Nexii Building Solutions and its subsidiaries have been sold to Nexiican Holdings Inc. and Nexii Inc. for $500,000 and assumption of more than $20 million in debt obligations.
The principals of the two acquiring entities are Blake Beckham, a lawyer with Beckham Portela in Dallas, Texas and director for Nexiican Holdings; and Russ Lambert, president of Nexii Inc.
According to the approval and vesting order, the buyers assume $22 million in secured debt obligations.
The sale follows a de-merger in May of Omicron Canada, which had been acquired by Nexii before its financial troubles forced it to seek creditor protection.
In May, Omicron principals bought the company back from Nexii, while it went through a restructuring.
Nexii has a manufacturing plant in Squamish. In May, Bill Tucker, CEO of Omicron and "bridge CEO" of Nexii Building Solutions, told BIV that the Squamish plant would continue operating.
Now that Nexii Buildings Solutions has been sold, it's unclear whether the new owners will continue operating the Squamish plant. BIV has reached out to Blake Beckham for comment.
The approval and vesting order stipulates that Nexii must terminate its employment with any employees, and notes that the new owners are entitled to make new offers of employment.
“The vendors shall cooperate with the purchaser or its affiliates to facilitate meetings between the purchaser or its affiliates and the employees for purposes of discussing the possibility of future employment with the purchaser or its affiliates," the approval and vesting order states.
Nexii Building Solutions Inc. started in Moose Jaw, founded by two brothers, and later relocated to Vancouver. The company had developed a building material called Nexiite – a greener alternative to cement and concrete.
The company attracted some high-profile names, including former Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson, who served as executive vice-president of strategy. Its valuation was said to be $2 billion in 2022.
But the company started running into legal and financial problems. It was sued in 2022 by Symphony Advanced Building Technologies Inc. over a licensing agreement, followed by a breach of contract suit in Pennsylvania in 2023.
In January, the company sought creditor protection and KSV Restructuring, a court-appointed monitor, was appointed to oversee a sale. As BIV reported in January, Nexii owed creditors more than $112 million.
—With files from Bob Mackin, Claire Wilson and Kirk Lapointe
