Filing Alert: Noble Supply & Logistics Chapter 11

Update (September 1, 2026): A comprehensive case summary is now available for the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing of Noble Supply & Logistics, LLC.

Noble Supply & Logistics, LLC (f/k/a Noble Sales Co. Inc.) and its debtor affiliates⁽¹⁾, a Boston, MA-based provider of mission-critical logistics, supply chain, and product solutions to government and commercial customers, filed for Chapter 11 protection on Aug. 30 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

The Debtors attribute the distress to a series of interrelated operational and financial challenges dating to 2022, centered on the working capital demands of the $1.2 billion FSG-53 Contract awarded in July 2022 for aerospace hardware and abrasives by the Defense Logistics Agency ("DLA"), the Department of War component that manages the military supply chain and Noble's largest customer. Noble invested tens of millions of dollars in a leased Olive Branch, MS distribution warehouse, automation technology, employee training, and inventory in reliance on the contract's ten-year term and the DLA's demand forecast, but did not receive its first order until July 2023 — a full year after award — and received no additional capital from its lenders during the transition period. The contract's stringent on-time delivery requirements and long lead-time materials produced a lag of as much as 18 months between inventory purchases and DLA payment on a contract order, and liquidity constraints coupled with the inability to raise capital forced Noble to stretch vendor payables.

In December 2024, the DLA advised that it did not intend to renew the FSG-53 Contract in June 2026, while requesting a two-year base extension to locate a replacement supplier — effectively reducing the contract's term from ten years to four. Per the Declaration, the DLA also did not comply with the contract's 24-month closeout procedures or the end-of-contract inventory buyback, leaving Noble with over $70 million in inventory and purchase obligations incurred in support of the program.

Noble responded with a series of stopgap measures: an incremental $25 million subordinated note funded by the existing holders in June 2025, term loan agent consent to receivables factoring, and $30 million of operating expenditure reductions. Those were overtaken by the seven-week federal government shutdown that began Oct. 1, 2025, during which government customers stopped placing orders and making payments while existing orders continued to require expenditure. Collection issues persisted past the Nov. 12, 2025 reopening.

Further contract losses followed. The DLA noticed an intent to renew Noble's Fire and Emergency Services Equipment ("FESE") contract in January 2026, then reversed course with a notice of non-renewal on March 13, 2026, and issued non-renewal notices on other critical contracts in May 2026. On Aug. 27, 2026, the DLA terminated approximately $400 million of orders under Noble's special operations equipment ("SOE") contract, its largest by revenue at $630 million in 2025 — a termination the Debtors are evaluating and currently intend to appeal under the Contract Disputes Act.

On Feb. 14, 2026, Prepetition Term Loan Agent Blue Torch Finance LLC issued a notice of default and reservation of rights citing failures to meet certain inventory milestones and to comply with financial covenants for the Dec. 31, 2025 testing period. The Prepetition Subordinated Note Agent followed days later, and Prepetition ABL Agent JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. did the same on March 5, 2026, leaving the Debtors in default of their loan agreements from that point forward.

Refinancing the capital structure proved no more successful. An earlier refinancing and capital infusion process, including with Bain Special Situations, had failed to close on concerns over anticipated levels of future federal defense spending, among other factors. A second effort launched in April 2026, directed at the $85 million Prepetition ABL Facility ahead of its July 31, 2026 maturity, reached 19 parties and produced 17 NDAs and several indications of interest, but again no closable transaction. The Prepetition Term Loan Lenders then formally declined to provide additional financing on July 24, 2026.

That left the Debtors to negotiate a wind-down with their existing lenders. On July 31, 2026, the Debtors and the Prepetition ABL Agent entered into a forbearance agreement extending the ABL maturity to Sept. 30, 2026, against a budget contemplating limited vendor payments and other critical disbursements necessary to effect a paydown of the facility over a six-week period. In light of the wind-down that agreement contemplated, the Debtors issued Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notices to all employees on Aug. 10, 2026. Draw availability under the revolver was terminated on Aug. 28, 2026 following repayment of the revolving loans, leaving approximately $1.2 million outstanding.

Two regulatory matters run alongside. The first concerns Noble's small business status. Although its enterprise spans thousands of government customers and vendors, Noble qualifies as a small business under the Small Business Act and depends on that status for certain awards. A March 10, 2026 Small Business Administration letter determined that Noble had ceased to so qualify as of Jan. 20, 2026, a determination reversed on April 28, 2026 following amendment of its LLC agreement and recertification. The second concerns open DOJ investigations. One set concerns prompt pay discounts and bidding practices under the Debtors' DLA maintenance, repair and operations and Tailored Logistics Support contracts; Noble has entered an ability-to-pay process and agreed to a Deferred Prosecution Agreement with DOJ Antitrust pending finalization of those negotiations. A separate Civil Investigative Demand concerns compliance by Federal Resources Supply Company, LLC — the CBRNE products supplier Noble acquired in October 2021 — with a DLA contract for nitrile gloves delivered during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Declaration states that Noble does not believe any of the investigations are material to its business.

The Debtors enter Chapter 11 with approximately $292.3 million of funded debt and approximately $250 million of trade payables, and without committed DIP financing. Prepetition, financial advisor Portage Point Partners gauged interest in a going-concern sale and in financing, with eight parties executing NDAs and receiving data room access or management meetings, but the processes did not yield a viable third-party financing source or purchaser before the filing. The cases will instead be funded through consensual, limited use of cash collateral. The Debtors intend to pursue two parallel paths: a court-supervised marketing and sale process for some or all of the assets on a going-concern basis, targeted for completion in approximately 75 days, with bidding procedures to be approved within 35 days of the Petition Date under the milestones governing cash collateral use; and an orderly monetization and liquidation of inventory, receivables, and other assets, structured to run in concert with the marketing process rather than to foreclose a sale transaction. The Debtors further intend to continue engaging with the DLA on the FSG-53 disputes, inventory held against DLA demand plans, and the terminated sales backlog, and have pursued a Contract Disputes Act claim to recoup approximately $86 million under the FSG-53 Contract.

Noble Supply & Logistics, LLC reports $100 million to $500 million in assets and $500 million to $1 billion in liabilities. The filing indicates that no funds will be available for distribution to unsecured creditors after administrative expenses are paid. The case number is 26-11369.

⁽¹⁾ For a complete list of debtor entities, see the Chapter 11 Debtors table.

Chapter 11 Debtors

Top Unsecured Claims

Key Parties

General Bankruptcy Counsel:

• Justin R. Alberto
  Cole Schotz P.C.
  Email: jalberto@coleschotz.com

General Bankruptcy Counsel:

• Kirkland & Ellis LLP
• Kirkland & Ellis International LLP

Financial Advisor / Chief Transformation Officer:

• Triple P TRS, LLC (Robert Albergotti)

Claims Agent:

• Kurtzman Carson Consultants, LLC d/b/a Verita Global

Equity Security Holders:

• Noble.com, LLC – 100% Equity Interest

Bondoro Insights is continuing to monitor this case and will provide further coverage as appropriate.

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