Borders will keep the rights to its brand name and leases and hold separate auction processes for those assets. Gordon Brothers unit DJM Realty will market the leases, although a timeline for that sale has not been set. But the deal fell apart amid objections from creditors, forcing the second-largest book retailer to announce plans to close its doors.
N and from Amazon. But the response from indies to Borders's demise has been muted by the potential impact on the overall health of the bookselling business and the readers it serves. Borders is adding up the losses, and a few profits, for its last monthly operating report to be submitted before the liquidation of its bookstores begins. As much as independent booksellers may have wished that Borders had gotten swallowed up back in the s when it put so many stores out of business and was well on its way to becoming a 1,store behemoth, the response to its impending demise has, for the most part, been measured.
The strong show of support and appreciation continues for Borders, including this letter from Sourcebooks. Borders confirmed that it will submit the proposal from a consortium of liquidators led by Hilco and Gordon Brothers to bankruptcy court on Thursday. If approved, as expected, going-out-of-business sales will begin under a phased roll out at stores and facilities starting Friday. With the fate of Borders Group to be decided early next week, below is a list, by store number of the current outlets, starting with the first store in Ann Arbor.
The outlook for Borders underwent a dramatic reversal late yesterday as the chain, responding to objections filed by both landlords and publishers, modified its bidding proposal to remove the offer made by Najafi Companies' BB Brands as the stalking horse bidder and replaced it with the bid by the liquidators.
Despite BB Brands dropping out as the stalking horse bidder for Borders as a going concern and a consortium of liquidators led by Hilco assuming that role, the show, or in this case the sale, must go on. The creditors committee has filed an objection asking the bankruptcy judge to deny Borders bid procedures motion as well as the breakup fee for BBB.
In separate filings, landlords for about 50 Borders locations raised objections to the compressed time frame for the Borders auction, scheduled to take place on July Ever since Borders Group filed for Chapter 11 in February, one of the overriding concerns of the major publishers has been that the bankruptcy process not be dragged out. Judge Martin Glenn called the million-dollar fee that Borders is paying for the extension a bitter pill. If the motion is not approved, or an agreement to sell the company is not reached, Borders said it will liquidate the bookstore chain as quickly as possible.
It looks like all Borders Group stores that faced the possibility of being forced to hold closing sales next week will get more time. In a statement filed with the bankruptcy court Wednesday, the company said that it has reached an agreement in principle with its lenders and the creditors committee on an amendment that would alleviate the need to hold store closing sales at outlets where no agreement had been reached to extend lease negotiations.
As promised, Borders continues to whittle away at the number of stores it may need to close because of an inability to reach agreements to extend lease negotiations. From the original list of 51 outlets, the number of stores that face possible closure now stands at No one said Chapter 11 is cheap. Borders filed a motion Friday taking six of the 51 stores off the list of outlets that may be closed. Judge Glenn also approved the request to move up the hearing for a motion to give Borders approval to conduct store closing sales at stores where extensions have not been reached.
Events are coming to a head at Borders as the chain works to stay within the requirements of its DIP financing while juggling offers for some of its assets. Borders has endured a rash of executive resignations since it filed for Chapter 11 in February and the latest to jump ship is Michele Cloutier executive v-p and chief merchandising officer. Over the objections of the Creditors Committee, the most contentious issue since the start of the Borders bankruptcy on February 16 was resolved in Borders favor Thursday, with the retailer being given an additional days beyond its original June 16 deadline to file and solicit acceptances for a Chapter 11 plan.
In ruling against the committee, Judge Martin Glenn noted that he will file a decision with the order later today or tomorrow. With a crucial hearing set for tomorrow in which judge Martin Glenn will rule on, among other things, Borders Group's motion for an extension for an exclusive period to develop its reorganization plan, the retailer's lawyers fired back at arguments made by the Creditors' Committee that Glenn should deny the request. In reply, Borders attorney Andrew Glenn said the company has pursued a dual-track process of exploring the possible sale of its assets as well as a standalone plan of reorganization as suggested by the committee.
If Judge Glenn denies Borders' request for an extension, the future of the Chapter 11 process will be put in doubt. One week after Borders Group filed a motion to extend the exclusivity period for filing and soliciting acceptances for a Chapter 11 plan, the Creditors Committee filed an objection.
If granted, the extension would give the retailer an additional days from the June 16 deadline to file a plan. Borders lost more money in April than it did in March, according to statements filed with the bankruptcy court Friday.
Borders made a major strategic error in when it handed off its online business to Amazon. It relaunched borders. The company has had four chief executive officers in the past three years and two chief financial officers in Sales declined by double-digit percentage rates in , and in the first three fiscal quarters of In bankruptcy, stockholders are typically wiped out.
Its second-largest shareholder is hedge fund Pershing Square, whose manager, William Ackman, has said Borders was his worst investment ever. Borders shares were trading over-the-counter on Wednesday afternoon at around 21 cents, down 7.
0コメント