FCS to remain open if bid is approved

Family Christian Stores may well keep its doors open, assuming the top bid placed in the company’s bankruptcy auction process is approved by the court in June, reported Christian Retailing (28 May)

The five-day auction process ended on 27 May with the winning bid being offered by FC Acquisition LLC, according to the MLive Media group. Three other bidders participated in the closed-door auction, including two who planned to liquidate the company’s assets if they had won the bid, according to World magazine.

Todd Almassian, a lawyer for Family Christian, told MLive that FC Acquisition’s bid has the support of the company’s consignment vendors, who had opposed the retailer’s original plan to sell its assets to the subsidiary group. FC Acquisition originally entered a ‘stalking horse’ bid in March, but withdrew it after creditors worried that the relationship between the subsidiary group and Family Christian was too close.

However this may not be the end of the story as major creditor Credit Suisse, and secondhighest bidder, Hilco Merchant Resources LLC and Gordon Brothers Retail Partners LLC, may well mount further legal challenges to the decision.

Family Christian filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February after steadily falling sales sent its debt-to-assets ratio soaring. The company’s declared assets are just under $75 million, while its debts are in excess of $125 million.