Liquidators to wind down U.S. department store chain Bon-Ton
18/04/2018 01:44
By Jessica DiNapoli and Tom Hals
April 17 (Reuters) - Bon-Ton Stores Inc BONTQ.PK , a
bankrupt department store chain, will begin a
going-out-of-business sale at its 200 U.S. locations in the
coming days after two liquidators won an auction for the
company, two sources close to the situation told Reuters on
Tuesday.
Bon-Ton, which traces its roots to 1854, had hoped in recent
days that a pair of landlords and a private equity firm would
actively bid at the auction and try to save the business.
However, sources told Reuters on Monday that the auction
started without the landlord group. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N1RI1WP
Great American Group and Tiger Capital Group, which
specialize in winding down retail chains, won the auction with a
bid estimated to be worth $775.5 million, according to the
sources. The pair bid against other liquidators.
The money raised from the auction will be used by Bon-Ton to
repay its creditors.
A portion of the winning bid came in the form of a credit
bid, or when a creditor uses some of what they are owed instead
of cash, sources told Reuters. Bondholders' credit bid
contributed at least $100 million to the value of the winning
bid, according to the sources.
The failure of the company, with headquarters in York,
Pennsylvania and Milwaukee, comes weeks after Toys 'R' Us began
a piecemeal liquidation of its namesake stores and Babies 'R'
Us, the latest sign of upheaval in the retail industry.
A U.S. Bankruptcy Court hearing will be held in Wilmington,
Delaware on Wednesday to approve of the winning bid, clearing
the way for the liquidators to begin selling store inventory,
leases and fixtures.
It is possible some of the stores will be acquired by
another retail operator that could reopen the stores under one
of the Bon-Ton names.
The company's stores include Carson's, Younkers,
Elder-Beerman, Bergner's, Boston Store, and Herberger's, as well
as Bon-Ton.
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U.S. department store chain Bon-Ton heads to liquidation
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(Reporting by Jessica DiNapoli in New York and Tom Hals in
Wilmington, Delaware; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
((thomas.hals@thomsonreuters.com; +1 610 544 2712; Reuters
Messaging: thomas.hals.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))