Bankrupt store chain Bon-Ton gets acquisition offer
10/04/2018 03:35
April 9 (Reuters) - Bon-Ton Stores Inc BONTQ.PK said on
Monday it received an acquisition offer from an investor group,
two months after the department store chain filed for bankruptcy
protection.
The investor group includes U.S. mall owners Namdar Realty
Group and Washington Prime Group Inc WPG.N , for whom Bon-Ton
is a significant tenant, and credit-focused fund manager DW
Partners.
The York, Pennsylvania-based retailer, with 23,000 employees
and 256 stores across 23 states, filed for creditor protection
in February and said it was on track to close 47 stores in 2018
as conventional brick-and-mortar operators are struggling to
adapt to rapidly changing consumer tastes and a rise in
e-commerce. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1PV20N
Bon-Ton Stores said it received a signed letter of intent
from the investor group with the parties finalizing an asset
purchase agreement before an auction to be held on April 16.
urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nPn7qYMBma
A hearing on the bankruptcy-court supervised sale process is
expected later in April, the company said.
Reuters reported last week that Namdar Realty Group and
Washington Prime Group were in talks to buy Bon-Ton Stores.
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(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha
Gayathri)
((Kanishka.Singh@thomsonreuters.com; +91 80 6749 0021;))