Investment Firm's Bid For David's Bridal Includes Keeping Most Stores Open
David's Bridal is on the verge of a union that could see hundreds of its locations stay open after it filed for bankruptcy this spring.
Publicly traded CION Investment Corp. has submitted a bid to acquire a majority of the retail locations of the bankrupt retailer, potentially keeping 200 David’s Bridal stores open, CoStar reports. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey is scheduled to approve the sale to New York-based CION on Friday, according to a court filing. The offer price wasn't disclosed.
"We received a going-concern bid from CION Investment Corp., and while we still have much work to do in order to proceed with seeking approval, and as nothing is certain, this could potentially be a great outcome for David’s Bridal," the formalwear retailer told CoStar in a statement. "This bid, if approved, would provide new money to support a go-forward David’s Bridal with up to 195 stores. Our discussions continue to focus on this opportunity."
David’s Bridal filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April as the retailer struggled with $257M in debt and an increase in online competitors in the wedding retail sector. The retailer had previously filed for and later emerged from bankruptcy in 2018.
David’s Bridal is one of several major retailers to file for bankruptcy so far this year as debt costs have spiked. It is joined by Party City, Serta Simmons Bedding, Tuesday Morning and Independent Pet Partners, the parent company of pet food retailer Chuck & Don’s and Natural Pawz.
Bed Bath & Beyond also filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April. But whereas David’s Bridal could get a reprieve, the home goods retailer is throwing in the towel, planning to close all 360 of its Bed Bath & Beyond and 120 Buy Buy Baby stores.
In conjunction with its bankruptcy, David’s Bridal tapped JLL to sell its 74K SF headquarters at 1001 Washington St. in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, CoStar reported. It had roughly 300 locations as of the bankruptcy filing, dozens of which are scheduled to be auctioned off this month by A&G Real Estate Partners.
