Blackstreet Capital purchases Park Seed for $12.8 million

A federal bankruptcy judge in Columbia, S.C., has accepted an offer from Blackstreet Capital, a private equity firm in Chevy Chase, Md., to purchase financially troubled Park Seed Co., a 142-year-old seed company in Greenwood, S.C. As part of the sale, Blackstreet has agreed to maintain the seed company’s 150-person workforce and to remain in Greenwood for at least 3 years. Blackstreet would have to pay each the bankruptcy estate, the state and Greenwood County a $500,000 penalty if it relocates sooner. The seed company’s creditors, which include Ball Horticultural Co. and C. Raker and Sons, indicated they were pleased with the offer.