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Francesca’s Finds Buyer, Saves 275 Stores
The clothing and accessories chain will keep about half of its fleet open under its new owner.
Investment firms TerraMar Capital LLC and Tiger Capital LLC are the new owners of mall staple Francesca’s. (Image courtesy of Flickr/Phillip Pessar)
Houston—Francesca's Holding Corp has found a new owner, allowing it to keep around half of its stores open.
The clothing and accessories chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in December, looking to find a buyer.
The retailer issued a “going concern” warning, an alert to shareholders that it may not be able to meet its financial obligations, in May and again in June, citing the temporary closure of its stores and disruptions to its supply chain due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Investment firms TerraMar Capital LLC and Tiger Capital LLC were the winning bidders under an enhanced asset purchase agreement.
The acquisition price was set at $23 million, including $17 million in cash, $3.1 million in gift card liabilities, and $3 million in deferred payroll taxes, as per court documents.
Under the terms of the deal, 275 of its 551 locations will remain open.
The company has already followed through on its plan to close more than 140 locations by Jan. 30, and exceeded it, closing nearly 240 locations in total.
“The buyer was chosen as the winning bidder based in part on its commitment to the future business and its recognition of the value of our people and our brand,” said Francesca’s CEO in a press release about the sale.
“We believe Francesca’s will emerge a stronger company poised to drive growth by exploring new brand avenues, expanding our ecommerce channels, and providing our customers with the latest fashion options and treasure hunt experiences they know and love.”
The company is exiting bankruptcy proceedings after the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware approved the sale last week.
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