I posted last week that Linens 'n Things May File Chapter 11 Tuesday. Gifts & Decorative Accessories wrote Sunday
...at least two retail liquidators have already conducted inventory valuations and store closing assessments in upward of 100 Linens ’n Things (LNT) units that might be shuttered.At the same time, many suppliers, including at least some of its majors, have either stopped shipping LNT or placed them on COD status, people familiar with the situation said.
[...]
The beleaguered retailer has apparently been preparing for that eventuality for at least two weeks, not long after its fourth quarter conference call in which it reported a steep net loss of $62 million on anemic sales of $962.9 million. During that time, LNT merchants and others have been calling around to vendors gathering formal corporate information on them — including mailing addresses and names of senior executives — the kind commonly included in court filings listing unsecured creditors.
Update:
It's mazing how interconnected the financial markets are. Linens is on the hook to GE and a $15 Million payment is due tomorrow, Tuesday!A GE spokesman confirmed that its Commercial Finance unit is the lead agent on a $700-million revolving credit facility to Linens 'n Things, but declined to comment further.The problems at Linens "raise questions about other retailers taken private in buyouts in recent years. They include Toys "R" Us and upmarket chain, Neiman Marcus."
Apollo Global Management bought Linens in a LBO and has filed a prospectus to go public "and is negotiating (with a couple of other firms) to buy $US12 billion of leveraged debt from Citigroup," which would help Citigroup.
Like Sun Capital "some of Apollo's other buyouts are said to be finding it tough, including real estate group, Realogy, the parent of the real estate companies Coldwell Banker and Century 21, and another chain, Claire's Stores, a jewelery, cosmetic and accessories chain catering for young women."
