True Temper Sports, Inc. (“True Temper Sports”) and 2 affiliated entities (“Debtors”) filed petitions on October 8, 2009 in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware for relief under Chapter 11 of Title 11 of the United States Code. The Debtors have moved for joint administration of the Debtors’ cases under case number 09-13446. The case has been assigned to Judge Peter J. Walsh. The following post summarizes the Debtors’ description of their business, the Debtors’ corporate structure, and provides information to assist in the identification of the Debtors and their non-Debtor affiliates.
The Business of the Debtors
The Debtors’ petitions and the first day motions are supported by the declaration of Jason A. Jenne, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (the “Jenne Declaration”). The Jenne Declaration describes True Temper Sports as “the leading worldwide supplier and innovator of steel, graphite, and multi-material golf club shafts and performance based recreational sports products.”
The Debtors’ customer base is described in the Jenne Declaration as follows:
The Company sells shafts to the top golf club original equipment manufacturers (“OEMs”), retailers and distributors in the golf equipment industry, primarily located in the United States, Europe, Japan, Australia, and Southeast Asia. Typically, distributors resell True Temper products to custom club assemblers, pro shops, and individuals. The Debtors have longstanding relationships with a highly diversified customer base in excess of 500 customers, including over 400 manufacturers and retailers, and over 50 distributors.
The Debtors’ Corporate Structure; Tradenames
The lead Debtor, True Temper Sports, is the direct, wholly owned subsidiary of True Temper Corporation, also a Debtor. True Temper Sports wholly owns True Temper Sports-PRC Holdings, Inc. Temper Sports-PRC Holdings, Inc. is a Delaware holding company that has provided capital investments and loans to its Non-U.S. Subsidiaries.
True Temper Sports is headquartered in 8275 Tournament Drive, Suite 200, Memphis, Tennessee. True Temper Sports leases manufacturing, warehouse, and office facilities located in Memphis, Tennessee; Aberdeen, Amory, Olive Branch, and Robinsonville, Mississippi; San Diego, California; Birmingham, England; Tokyo, Japan, and Hong Kong.
Based on the information provided in the petitions, domestic operations have been conducted almost exclusively in the lead Debtor, True Temper Sports, Inc.
The following are identified in the True Temper Sports petition as trade names which that entity has used: Alpha Q; Grafalloy; Royal Precision; RP; True Temper; True Temper Company; True Temper Corporation; True Temper Sports; True Temper Sports, Inc.; True Temper Sports, Incorporated; TT TTC; TTS; and TTSI.
Non-Debtor Affiliates
TTS Holdings, LLC directly owns 96.8% of the outstanding common and preferred stock of True Temper Corporation. TTS Holdings, LLC is not included in the filings.
The Jenne Declaration states that the non-U.S. subsidiaries of the Debtors are “not seeking relief under chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code or any other insolvency laws.” The Jenne Declaration identifies the following non-U.S. affiliates:
The Company conducts its operations in the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, and Hong Kong through True Temper. The Company’s operations in China are conducted through non-U.S. subsidiaries of True Temper Sports-PRC Holdings, Inc. (“TTSPRC”), namely Ji Neng Composite Materials & Products (Guangzhou) Ltd. (“Ji Neng”), Supertop Enterprises Ltd. (“Supertop”), and True Temper Alloy Materials Co. (Suzhou) Ltd. (“Alloy Materials”) (collectively, the “Non-U.S. Subsidiaries”).
The Debtors have moved for joint administration of the Debtors’ cases. The joint administration of the Debtors’ cases is for procedural purposes only. For substantive purposes, including the exercise by a creditor of any substantive rights, the correct Debtor entity still must be identified.
Although the True Temper Sports initial bankruptcy filings do not include any flags that Debtor misidentification is likely, due to the presence of non-Debtor foreign subsidiaries, a supplier or other unsecured trade creditor should confirm the identity of the entity with whom it contracted. A supplier should also confirm the identity of the actual recipient of any goods and services provided by the supplier.
Listing of the Debtors, Case Numbers and Petition Statistical Information
A listing of the corporate name of each of the Debtors, its case number and estimated number of creditors, assets and liabilities, as listed in each petition, is provided a table below.
| Creditor Name | Case No. | Estimated No. of Creditors | Estimated Assets | Estimated Liabilities |
| True Temper Sports, Inc. | 09-13446 | 1,000-5,000 | $100,000,001 to $500 Million | $100,000,001 to $500 Million |
| True Temper Corporation | 09-13447 | 1,000-5,000 | $100,000,001 to $500 Million | $100,000,001 to $500 Million |
| True Temper Sports-PRC Holdings, Inc. | 09-13448 | 1,000-5,000 | $100,000,001 to $500 Million | $100,000,001 to $500 Million |