Navistar Buys Bankrupt Monaco for $50 Million

Illinois trucking company Navistar International Corp. has completed its $50 million purchase of bankrupt Oregon recreational vehicle manufacturer Monaco Coach Corp.

A federal judge in Delaware approved the sale Friday after learning there were no other bidders for the assets of Monaco, which has RV plants in Oregon and Indiana. The deal is set to close June 2.

It remained unclear whether Navistar will resume production at the plant in Coburg just north of Eugene or rehire any of the 2,000 employees laid off just before the company filed bankruptcy.

Monaco Coach had been one of the biggest private-sector employers in the Eugene area before the RV industry collapsed with the economy.

The other Monaco plant is in Elkhart-Goshen, Ind. Navistar has 17,000 employees at plants in Ohio, Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Canada.

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