Investor Group Moves To Buy Bon-Ton Before Auction

MILWAUKEE, WI — An investment group has come forward in an effort to buy Bon-Ton, the parent company of Boston Store.

The investor group is comprised of Namdar Realty Group, Washington Prime Group and the credit firm DW Partners LP. Bon-Ton filed for bankruptcy in February and had been hoping to find a going-concern buyer to buy the massive U.S. retail outlet in a court-supervised sale process, according to the Milwaukee Business Journal.

A going concern purchase is one that is made with the understanding that the company can continue operations through the sale without going into liquidation.

Bon-Ton's assets were scheduled to be auctioned Monday, however the company pushed the auction back to April 16. The proposed sale to this investor group is scheduled to finalize an asset purchase agreement in advance of the April 16 auction.

According to the Milwaukee Biz Times, the purchase price would include “an aggregate purchase consideration sufficient to have a minimum excess availability of 22.5 percent at closing and a minimum aggregate cash payment of no less than $128 million,” which cited court documents.

Bill Tracy, President and Chief Executive Officer, said in a prepared statement, "We are pleased to have received this signed letter of intent and are advancing our discussions with the investor group to complete an asset purchase agreement as we proceed toward the court-supervised auction. With the help of our advisors, we will evaluate all qualified bids and are committed to maximizing value and pursuing the best path forward for the Company and our stakeholders."

Bon-Ton is continuing to operate its stores even as they complete its court-supervised restructuring process. In many states, Bon-Ton was required to provide notification under certain state and federal laws of potential job losses even as it works to complete a sale of the Company.

For example, Bon-Ton filed a mass-layoff notice in Wisconsin on April 6, announcing that 2,255 workers would be laid off as early as June 5 over a period of several months as the company anticipated closing the state's 13 retail outlets.

Bon-Ton has more than 20,000 employees across 23 U.S. states.

Company officials hope the sale will be completed as a going concern, and is hopeful the sale process will preserve jobs. The Company's stores remain open and are continuing to serve customers.

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