Overstock shares jump after winning auction for Bed Bath & Beyond assets (updated)

Bed Bath & Beyond

22/06/2023 20:32

(Updates with share reaction, adds details of deal, background
throughout)
    By Deborah Mary Sophia and Chibuike Oguh
       June 22 (Reuters) - 
    Shares of Overstock.com  OSTK.O  jumped on Thursday after
the online retailer won an auction for a portion of the assets
of bankrupt home goods chain Bed Bath & Beyond.
    Overstock emerged as the winning bidder for Bed Bath &
Beyond's intellectual property and mobile platform in a deal
worth $21.5 million, court filings showed on Thursday. 
        Overstock's stock rose more than 22% to $26.01, its
highest level of the year. More than 8 million Overstock shares
have traded in the session, nearly six times the stock's 10-day
moving average volume, per Refinitiv data.
  
        Bed Bath & Beyond stores are not part of the deal. But
Overstock will acquire the chain's business data and publicity
rights as well as assume certain liabilities related to
transferred contracts. The sale is subject to approval by the
bankruptcy court at a hearing on Tuesday. 
  
        Overstock last week offered to buy some Bed Bath &
Beyond assets under a "stalking horse" bid, prompting the chain
to launch an auction to solicit counter offers. 
        Once a storied company, Bed Bath & Beyond filed for
Chapter 11 
    bankruptcy
     protection in April after struggling for years with
dwindling sales and a failed merchandising strategy.
  
        Some Bed Bath & Beyond brands including its Buy Buy Baby
chain, which sells products for infants and toddlers, had
attracted interest from investment firms 
    Go Global Retail
     and 
    Sixth Street Partners
    , according to media reports.        
    
    
    

 (Reporting by Deborah Sophia in Bengaluru and Chibuike Oguh in
New York; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Mark Porter)
 ((DeborahMary.Sophia@thomsonreuters.com;))