RadioShack Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, Sprint Buys Stores
RadioShack made official what many had considered inevitable last night and filed for bankruptcy protection. And, as reported earlier this week, Sprint, with the hedge fund Standard General, stepped in to to take over between 1.5K and 2.4K of the beleagured company's US stores. The electronics retailer's 94-year-old name will, in a sense, live on as Sprint announced it would run up to 1.75K "store-within-a-store" locations of the brand.
Sprint and Standard General are stalking horse bidders and will face other suitors in a court-supervised bankruptcy auction. Buffeted by new technology and increased retail competition, RadioShack had not turned a profit since 2011 despite the 2013 hiring of CEO Joe Magnacca, who had led a successful turnaround at convenience chain Duane Reade before Walgreens acquired it.
