Mercy auction delayed; new date not announced

Lang
10/5/23

A planned auction to determine the fate of Mercy Iowa City has been delayed.

The original auction was set to take place between the University of Iowa and an unnamed second party Wednesday morning at the law offices of McDermott, Will and Emory in Chicago. But Mercy officials announced Wednesday night that the auction had been continued to a later date. No explanation or future date was given, although court records indicate the rescheduled auction will take place sometime before a sale hearing on Tuesday. The Cedar Rapids Gazette reports the auction was delayed at the request of a group of collective creditors to whom Mercy owes over $17 million.

Mercy filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on August 7th, leading to the UI making a stalking horse bid of $20 million. A second bidder expressed interest on Monday, leading to Wednesday’s planned auction. Both bidders have asked that Mercy and its assets be placed into a court-appointed receivership, which would take responsibility for day-to-day operations from current ownership while the sale is finalized.