Creditor’s state the company’s growth was built on questionable accounting practices and that $2.3 billion “simply vanished”
Rochester Hills, Mich.—First Brands Group has announced that Charles Moore has been appointed interim chief executive officer, succeeding founder and CEO Patrick James, who has resigned from the company earlier on Monday.
Moore assumes executive leadership as First Brands continues its previously announced chapter 11 cases in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.
Founded in 2016, First Brands expanded quickly and used loans to acquire 15 competitors. First Brands’ creditors include banking institutions Jefferies, UBS and BlackRock, who are stating the company’s growth was built on questionable accounting practices.
The company’s Special Committee of the Board of Directors is investigating the prepetition use of off-balance sheet financing arrangements. Creditors said in a court filing last week that as much as $2.3 billion of assets had “simply vanished,” as first reported by the New York Times.
“It appears likely that First Brands Group, LLC’s filing for Chapter 11 will cause some pain for a wide range of market participants,” said Morningstar DBRS in a statement released last Thursday. “While full information on the creditors to First Brands is still emerging, there appears to have been a complex and relatively opaque range of financing for the global aftermarket parts supplier.”
The firm’s managing director of Global Financial Institution Ratings, Elisabeth Rudman, added, “We can expect an increase in complicated bankruptcies of larger, privately held corporates.”
Moore has served as First Brands’ Chief Restructuring Officer since September 2025 and brings more than 30 years of experience in restructuring and performance improvement across the automotive supply chain.
In his role as Interim CEO, Moore will work closely with First Brands’ management team and advisors to oversee operational stabilization initiatives and facilitate a court-supervised sale process. There are no other changes to First Brands’ executive leadership team at this time.
First Brands has secured $1.1 billion in debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing, which is providing the necessary capital for the company to maintain operations, fulfill customer orders, and meet its commitments to its vendors and partners.
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