Bombay Looks for Quick Sale
By Staff -- Gifts & Decorative Accessories, 10/2/2007 7:02:00 AM
Fort Worth — The Bombay Company, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection late last month, received approval for a quick auction to sell itself in a complete liquidation, as a going concern, or as something in between. The long-struggling retailer has a bid, for an unknown amount, from an investor group referred to as the Tiger Joint Venture in court documents.
Tiger includes Tiger Capital Group, Crystal Capital Group and SB Capital Group. Under the agreement, the group would act as Bombay’s agent to dispose of its inventory, according to the documents. Should Bombay receive a better bid at auction, Tiger would get a $1.08 million breakup fee.
Bombay said it would make a final asset purchase agreement available by October 5, and would conduct an auction seeking higher bids starting October 10 and continuing the next day, if necessary. In addition to competing liquidation bids, Bombay said it is seeking and would prefer offers from those interested in operating the retailer as going concern, or “hybrid” deals that include continuing some operations and closing others. A sale hearing would follow October 12, according to the court order, but could be postponed until October 15.
“Bombay has determined that the best way to maximize the return to its creditors is to place itself and its assets for sale,” the company said in a court document. Bombay also said it “embarked on an aggressive process to complete a sale by mid-October” because it knew any buyer would want to conclude the deal before the start of the holiday season.
The 419-store Top 100 company lost $52.8 million in its last fiscal year, and posted a $15.4 million loss in the first quarter ended May 5. It filed for bankruptcy listing assets of $239.4 million and debts of $173.4 million.
