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Hilco Real Estate and Bridge Associates Net Six-Fold Increase In Realization On Assets in Durango Georgia Paper Company Bankruptcy Estate Auction Distressed Paper Mill Property to be Transformed into Multi-Use Real Estate Development Savannah, Georgia – December 8, 2005 – Creativity was the big winner in a bankruptcy auction that saw a shuttered paper mill, equipment and surrounding land yield $42,086,000 for creditors. Ironically, prior to approval of the reorganization plan, the creditors had entertained offers between $3,000,000 and $7,000,000 for the property. Chicago-based Hilco Real Estate, LLC conducted the auction for Bridge Associates, LLC, through Anthony H.N. Schnelling, a member of the firm acting as the Trustee for the Durango Georgia Paper Bankruptcy Estate. The winning bid was submitted by the Jacksonville, Florida-based LandMar Group, LLC, a leading developer of residential properties throughout Florida and the Southeast. The bid is subject to approval by the Bankruptcy Court, which is scheduled to convene on December 12, 2005. “The Durango Georgia Paper Mill was clearly a distressed property, with limited value as a moth-balled paper plant,” said Mr. Schnelling. Our success at auction shows what can be accomplished when you are willing to think out of the box and to seek a creative solution to a problem.” The problem confronting Mr. Schnelling as Trustee was how to optimize the value of the real property, which included approximately 721 acres of land that makes up the paper mill property in St. Marys, Georgia (25 minutes north of Jacksonville, Florida), the plant, and equipment formerly operated as the paper mill. There were an additional four parcels of land within 25 miles consisting of 2,658 acres of timberland. Hilco Real Estate, LLC, a specialist in distressed property disposition, was engaged to help find a solution. “We saw great potential for the property to become one of the most significant upper income residential opportunities in the Jacksonville metropolitan area,” said Mitchell Kahn, CEO of Hilco Real Estate. “Located along the North River, just off the St. Mary’s River, with immediate access to the intercoastal waterway, the property offered spectacular views of natural native marshlands that few other sites along the eastern coast can match. The demand for waterfront properties has been so great in the Jacksonville area over the past two years that we decided to make residential developers our primary marketing target,” added Mr. Kahn. Hilco employed a dual-pronged marketing process in which it prepared for an ordinary course bankruptcy auction and simultaneously launched an aggressive marketing campaign to bring residential developers to the sale who had familiarity with the area and could envision the vast potential. The strategy paid-off when the auction gavel fell and LandMar Group’s bid exceeded $42 million. Jim Cullis, Regional Manager for the LandMar Group, commented, “We are extremely excited to be selected as the winning bidder. The project represents a natural continuation of our efforts in Georgia, and we now have the opportunity to create a new waterfront marina. We look forward to working closely with community leaders in St. Marys, along with representatives from local, state and federal environmental agencies in a collaborative effort.” Ward Stone, Jr., legal counsel for the estate, stated, “I am personally pleased not only for the estate’s creditors who are now expected to receive a significantly greater recovery than when we began this process, but also for the residents of St. Marys, who will have the benefit of a new multi-use real estate development, including a waterfront marina.” Following the auction, Mr. Schnelling and Mr. Kahn jointly commented on the process. “This property was unique in that we saw what we believed to be its true potential, and today’s auction validates that faith. We believe this is a process that can be replicated in similar situation around the country where there are distressed properties that can be transformed into higher and better uses.” ---END---