U.S. department store chain Bon-Ton files for bankruptcy (updated)
05/02/2018 04:44
(Adds assets, liabilities from court filing; detail on store
closures, operations, background)
Feb 4 (Reuters) - Bon-Ton Stores Inc BONT.PK said on
Sunday it filed for bankruptcy protection to restructure its
debt and explore a potential sale, making it the first major
U.S. brick-and-mortar retailer to do so this year.
The York, Pennsylvania-based department store operator,
which has about 260 stores, listed assets in the range of
$50,001 to $100,000 and liabilities in the range of $500 million
to $1 million, according to a Chapter 11 filing with the
Delaware bankruptcy court.
Department store operators have been struggling to fend off
online sellers like Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O as shoppers
increasingly choose to shop over the internet and mall foot
traffic declines.
Last year, more than 15 U.S. retailers filed for bankruptcy,
the most in six years, as consumers moved more of their shopping
online.
During the court-supervised process, Bon-Ton plans to
continue operating in the normal course, it said.
Bon-Ton said it received a commitment of up to $725 million
in debtor-in-possession financing from its existing ABL lenders
to support its operations. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nPn6cxVRxa
The company reiterated it would shutter 47 stores across the
country, with the bulk concentrated in Illinois, Indiana,
Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
"We are currently engaged in discussions with potential
investors and our debtholders on a financial restructuring
plan," Chief Executive Bill Tracy said in a statement.
Bon-Ton said its stores, e-commerce and mobile platforms
under the Bon-Ton, Bergner's, Boston Store, Carson's,
Elder-Beerman, Herberger's and Younkers nameplates are open and
operating as usual.
AlixPartners LLP is serving as restructuring adviser and PJT
Partners Inc is acting as financial adviser, the company said.
(Reporting by Subrat Patnaik in Bengaluru; Editing by Gopakumar
Warrier)
((mailto:subrat.patnaik@thomsonreuters.com; within U.S. +1 646
223 8780, outside U.S. +91 80 6749 8052; Reuters Messaging:
rm://subrat.patnaik.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
Keywords: BON TON STORES BANKRUPTCY/