The buyers' press release issued Friday sent business writers and news services scrambling to be the first to get out the word about the bid for the San Francisco-headquartered Core-Mark International Inc. package of 19,500 stores and 22 distribution centers in 38 states and five Canadian provinces. But most, if not all, ended up rehashing the release without comment from the group, CVCMA LLC with principals in Dallas and Austin. According to the release, the investors plan to fund the plan through Bank of America, but also are talking to GMAC Commercial Finance to round out the "overall capital structure."

The $315-million offer comes at a time when Fleming, working to emerge from a Chapter 11, planned to use the network to rebuild the empire, according to the latest reorganization plan before the US Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. Though the document's still awaiting Chief Judge Mary F. Walrath's signature, Fleming is seeking a June 19 confirmation hearing to lay the legal groundwork to emerge from bankruptcy by July 31.

The Texas investors' offer was made just five days before Fleming's requested deadline for objectors to serve written discovery notices and a month before the deadline for objections to the reorganization plan. The timing of the bid could derail Fleming's schedule although the reality is it's a world where hopeful buyers can make an offer, but it doesn't have to be accepted.

Fleming's asset sell-off to recover from $609 million in debt has left it with just the Core-Mark network, renamed to Fleming Convenience and the cornerstone for rebuilding. The amended reorganization plan calls for setting up a new parent holding company, Core-Mark Newco. If the plan isn't confirmed, the Lewisville, TX-based Fleming said it will entertain a conversion to a Chapter 7 and "forced sale" liquidation. The Core-Mark Newco proposal would dissolve nine of the 19 Fleming-related subsidiaries and transfer remaining assets to the planned Delaware corporation under a stock exchange program that would make it the holding company for the convenience store business.

Telephone calls to Fleming were directed to Core-Mark in San Francisco. Core-Mark's spokesman said he would be calling Fleming to get the referrals stopped--his third of the day--since they had no information about the reported offer.

Leading the buyers' group is Charles "Chuck" Jarvie, partner in the three-year-old Beta Capital Group in Dallas and former senior executive for Procter & Gamble. Jarvie, who did not return telephone calls Friday, was locked in talks throughout the afternoon with European investors, according to his office.

The buyers' roster includes Bill Fields, a founder of EverydayWealth, an Austin-based, Internet business set up to show others how to make and manage money. Fields' most recent stint was chairman and CEO for APEC China Asset Management Ltd., which specializes in expanding companies and sourcing product in China. He's also been president and CEO of Wal-Mart from 1993 to 1996; chairman and CEO for Blockbuster Entertainment Group from 1996 to 1997; head of Hudson's Bay Co. until 1999; and then a short run as leader of the turnaround team for the Factory-2-U discount chain.

The other would-be buyers are David W. Hill of Austin, an experienced investment banker and financial consultant for restaurant and convenience store sectors, and Dr. Tony Copp of Dallas-based Copp Ventures LLC and former executive for Hunt Oil and Salomon Brothers in New York City. In an interview with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Copp said he "hopes" Fleming's creditors will take the offer to bankruptcy court today.

Fleming paid $430 million in 2002, just a year before its Chapter 11, for package from the Canadian-based Core-Mark and Head Distributing Inc. in Georgia. At that time, the package totaled 19 distribution centers and 30,000 convenience stores.

In May 2003, Beta Capital Group, made up of seven partners with deep ties to the corporate world, made a similar play for North Carolina-headquartered Midway Airlines, also emerging from a Chapter 11. In that case, the bankruptcy judge ordered a 60-day negotiation period between the airlines' leaders and the Dallas-based investment group. According to published accounts, Midway's CEO opposed liquidation because the bankruptcy was nearing a conclusion and it appears the deal fell out. And just three months ago, Beta Capital was part of an investment group sponsoring a $14-million loan to North American Technologies Group Inc. of Houston.