Borders in Mansfield May be Closing Down, Along with Most in the Country

started up about six years ago, and business seemed to be good. People would mill around, drink coffee, have meetings and purchase one literary item or another.

So why are they probably going to close up shop?

The Borders Group had been trying to sell their firm to another company since the winter, when they filed for bankrupcy. They put the company on auction and it looked like Najafi Companies, a private equity firm was going to snatch it up. Najafi's proposal could have kept the remaining 400 (out of 642 since declaring bankrupcy) Borders stores open if the deal went through, according to Bloomberg News.

A committee of the company's creditors voted down the proposed takeover, their reasoning being that Najafi still kept the option of liquidation open once they bought company's assests. The committee felt that they could get more of their loaned money back if they sold the company to a firm that had liquidation as their primary goal.

"It will be a real detriment to Mansfield," said Patricia Murphy, a local patron of the Mansfield Borders. "This store was really working for [the company]. Many people, including myself, come here, and it's just a nice place to come and kick back. Everyone's going to feel it."

Murphy added that she felt the at Borders would also be sorely missed by many of the store's younger patrons.

Mansfield Borders' employee Alisha Schultz said she was not too happy about the news.

"I'm really upset," she said. "I've been working here since it opened, for about six years now, so it's just been a shock."

Schultz was not the only one shocked by the news.

"I'm really surprised," said Angela Shea. "It feels like it just opened, I'm really shocked."

According to Bloomberg News, the companies most likely to buy Borders are Gordon Brother Retail Partners and Hilco Merchant Resources. Both companies stated that they would liquidate all assests if they were able to buy the company. This means that 10,700 Borders employees may be out of work. The liquidation process is expected to start closing down certain stores as early as July 22.