Steve & Barry’s Accepts Bid For $163 Million Sale
Press Release
- August 05 2008
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- 1 comment
Discount clothing retailer Steve & Barry’s, which carries Laird Hamilton’s Wonderwall line, has accepted a “stalking horse” bid from investment firm Bay Harbour Mgmt.to assume the company’s storefronts and assets, which BH plans to continue running as a working concern. Here’s the press release:
PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Steve & Barry’s LLC today announced that it has filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York a “stalking horse” Asset Purchase Agreement with BH S&B Holding LLC, a newly formed subsidiary of investment firm Bay Harbour Management. Under the terms of the agreement, BH S&B Holdings would acquire certain of the company’s assets for $163 million. Subject to acceptable negotiation of lease terms prior to the final auction date, BH S&B Holdings’ expressed intent is to continue to operate the chain of Steve & Barry’s retail stores as a going concern, with current staff and key facilities, including the company’s New York headquarters, Columbus, Ohio distribution center, and certain overseas offices.
The assets to be acquired include but are not limited to: certain Steve & Barry’s store leases; all Steve & Barry’s merchandise, with the exclusion of any product located at stores not purchased by BH S&B Holdings; and all Steve & Barry’s intellectual property rights, including its celebrity and brand licenses. Further due diligence will determine which Steve & Barry’s renegotiated store leases BH S&B Holdings would acquire should the Asset Purchase Agreement be approved by the Court. The Company has further entered into an agency sale agreement for inventory in stores where the Company and BH S&B Holdings cannot accomplish an appropriate package of renegotiated leases and other conditions. In this circumstance, Hilco Merchant Resources LLC becomes the stalking horse bidder with intention of conducting a final sale of the company’s inventory.
Subject to Court approval, the stalking horse proposal will serve as the opening bid during an auction process that is scheduled to take place in August, and will be subject to higher and better offers.
Bay Harbour Management is an SEC registered investment advisor with significant experience in purchasing distressed companies and effectuating their turnaround. The firm’s holdings have included the retailer Barney’s New York, Telcove, and the rebranding and turnaround of the former Aladdin Casino, now operating on the Las Vegas strip as the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino.
About Steve & Barry’s
New York-based Steve & Barry’s is a leading national casual apparel retailer that offers high quality merchandise at astonishing low prices for men, women and children. Founded in 1985, the company operates 276 anchor and junior anchor shopping center and mall-based locations throughout the U.S. At STEVE & BARRY’S ® stores, shoppers will find brands they can’t find anywhere else, including the BITTEN™ collection, the first-ever apparel line created by actress and global fashion icon Sarah Jessica Parker, and the STARBURY™ collection of athletic and lifestyle apparel and sneakers created with NBA ® star Stephon Marbury. Steve & Barry’s is also the exclusive home of the DEAR™ collection by Amanda Bynes, the BIG BEN WALLACE™ collection , the ELEVEN BY VENUS WILLIAMS™ collection, the BUBBAGOLF™ collection by professional golfer Bubba Watson, and the WONDERWALL™ collection by surfer Laird Hamilton. Additional information and store locations can be found at www.steveandbarrys.com.
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August 11th, 2008 at 4:13 am
It is no doubt the S&B rascal group is playing dirty in the business also this deal.
First, creditors do not have sufficient information to determine whether or not it is a good deal. Steve & Barry’s, LLC has not yet filed schedules listing its assets and liabilities. The Bankruptcy Rules require that schedules of assets and liabilities be filed no later than fifteen days after the bankruptcy petition is filed. Because of the complexity of the debtors, the court granted them an extension of time to file schedules. However, without schedules, neither the Bankruptcy Court nor the creditors have any information about what the assets of the company may be worth.
Second, a sale of all of the assets of the company ought to be done in the form of a Chapter 11 plan. Doing it as a plan would entitle creditors to vote whether to accept or reject the plan, and the plan would not be confirmed by the court unless a majority of creditors by number and two thirds by dollar amount in each class of claims voted to accept the plan. The Debtors would also be required to furnish adequate information to creditors including an estimate of what the creditors might receive if the sale is approved and what the creditors might receive if the assets of the company are liquidated by a bankruptcy trustee.
Third, no reason has been shown why this deal must be done right now. The sale ought to be postponed until the Debtors have filed schedules and furnished sufficient information for the Court and the creditors.
And the last is they had habit and get used to stole vendors goods, S&B get used to enforces overseas vendors to shipped the cargoes under D/P terms but cooperate with their appointed forwarder to released the containers without the surrender of the original Bill of Lading which is totally illegal, most of the overseas vendors even not yet to get pay for the cargoes shipped 12 months before, however, S&B kept placing orders and pushing shipments before 9th July but ever and never response for the payment issue even before filed Chapter 11, all these fraud business conduct will be continuous after Asset Purchase deal were done and there will be more victims get kill by them.