MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN – A bankruptcy court judge in Delaware dealt a serious blow today to the on-going operations of Bon-Ton owned stores like Younkers when she denied a payment from a group of investors who want to keep the retailer functioning.
On Monday, April 9, Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. announced that it received a signed letter of intent from an investor group composed of DW Partners, Namdar Realty Group (including its partner Mason Asset Management) and Washington Prime Group (the “investor group”), pursuant to which the investor group proposes to acquire the Company as a going concern in a Bankruptcy Court-supervised sale process. The Company and the investor group are in the process of finalizing an asset purchase agreement in advance of an auction, which is now scheduled to be held on April 16, 2018.
Bill Tracy, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, “We are pleased to have received this signed letter of intent and are advancing our discussions with the investor group to complete an asset purchase agreement as we proceed toward the court-supervised auction. With the help of our advisors, we will evaluate all qualified bids and are committed to maximizing value and pursuing the best path forward for the Company and our stakeholders. I would like to thank our talented associates, our vendors and our other partners for their ongoing support through our court-supervised restructuring process. As always, we remain focused on serving our loyal customers with quality merchandise and an exceptional shopping experience in our stores and across e-commerce and mobile platforms.”
DW Partners is an alternative asset manager focusing on investment in credit markets across a broad range of asset types and strategies. Namdar Realty Group is a privately held commercial real estate investment and management firm that owns and operates more than 30 million square feet of commercial real estate in the United States. Washington Prime Group is a retail real estate investment trust and a recognized leader in the ownership, management, acquisition and development of retail properties.
Bon-Ton sought and received approval from its lenders to extend the date of the auction to April 16, 2018. The auction is designed to achieve the highest or otherwise best offer, and is subject to, among other things, Bankruptcy Court approval and other customary conditions. A hearing to approve a sale is expected to take place later in April.
Bon-Ton is continuing to operate in the ordinary course as the Company completes its court-supervised restructuring process. Bon-Ton was required to provide notification under certain state and federal laws of potential job losses even as it works to complete a sale of the Company as a going concern, and is hopeful the sale process will preserve jobs. The Company’s stores remain open and are continuing to serve customers.
As previously announced, on February 4, 2018, Bon-Ton and its subsidiaries filed voluntary petitions for a court-supervised financial restructuring under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The Company’s 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.
However, according to multiple reports, including one at the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Judge Mary F. Walrath of U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware today shot down a proposed $500,000 payment from Bon-Ton to the investor group to pay for “due diligence” expenses.
The Journal-Sentinel reports that Judge Walrath said “it looked like Bon-Ton was willing to reimburse the investor group its fees ‘simply to get them to make a bid,’ according to a recording of Wednesday’s court hearing.”
Bon-Ton reportedly issued a statement after the judge’s ruling, saying, “We remain in active discussions with DW Partners and other members of the investor group to complete an asset purchase agreement as we proceed toward the court-supervised auction scheduled to be held on April 16, 2018.”
At the same time, the Journal-Sentinel reports “Other bidders in the case, including a group of creditors, want to buy all or parts of Bon-Ton and liquidate it.”
Bon-Ton stock this week skyrocketed from 4 cents a share to 7 cents a share, trading earlier as high as 10 cents a share.
Can you spell bribe ? Kickback ? Undercover operation ? Elected public servants should have NO problem with this.
Is everything a conspiracy with you?
Mind your own business, dumbass!
Sounds like you have some big problems there buddy.
You may want to take a break from the internet for a while.
what ever happened to the $250,000 the city GAVE younkers??
That transaction never took place.
Anchors away. bwaaaaaaaaa
Mason City Younkers employees were supposed to find out today if the Southbridge store is closing. Any word?
Will find out if true, thanks.
The auction of Bon Tons assets has been delayed, so employees of the Mason City store (and all other Bon Ton stores for that matter ) do not know their fate just yet. There is a potential buyer (who is the preferred buyer) that intends to keep Bon Ton in operation, but a court blocked their request to have Bon Ton pay their due dilligence costs. Other potential buyers appear to want to liquidate Bon Tons assets – if one of these buyers succeeds in putchasng Bon Ton, Store closures are likely.