Jeff Sands is a mover and shaker, an investor who enjoys the challenge of buying midsize companies that are struggling and turning them around.
Recently, the Mandaville native set his eyes on the now shuttered Bayou Steel Group. St. John the Baptist Parish's largest employer abruptly laid off its entire workforce and closed up shop then declared bankruptcy.
Sands has reached out to Bayou's parent company, Black Diamond Capital Management, but has yet to hear back from them.
Sands tells the Times-Picayune/Advocate, "This is how companies die quietly in America. No response from attorneys other than they will forward on my inquiry. Zero response from ownership or management."
Sands runs American Industrial Acquisition, which is responsible for saving companies like Vermont Aerospace Manufacturing, Canadian Kraft Paper Industries, and Union Metal of Canton, Ohio and wants to take a chance on Bayou Steel.
Meanwhile, Bayou's bankruptcy lawyer got back to Sands on Monday. Sands group and six other potential investors now have access to Bayou's books to size up the company's financial state. Bayou will officially file for bankruptcy in Delaware at a hearing scheduled for October 22nd.