A bankruptcy judge approved the sale of David’s Bridal to asset manager Cion Investment Corp. in a deal that will keep the chain up and running, but in a downsized fashion.
Under the terms of the no-cash transaction, whose terms were not disclosed, the bankrupt wedding dress and special occasion retailer will reportedly keep 195 stores open. Cion has also agreed to pay costs related to renewing or breaking leases at stores and professional fees incurred during bankruptcy, reported Reuters, citing court documents. The sale also reduced the company’s overall debt to about $50M from its previous level of $256.9M.
David’s Bridal filed for bankruptcy for the second time in five years in April. At the time, the retailer said it was evaluating its physical footprint to “maximise value and the prospect of a successful going concern transaction”. At the time, the retailer had about 300 stores across the US, Canada, UK and franchise locations in Mexico.
David’s Bridal has been looking for a buyer that would preserve its business since February. But apart from the Cion bid, the company only received two bids whose offers were for the chain’s brand name and intellectual property, but not its stores or inventory, Reuters reported, and neither offered more than $250,000 in cash.
