BREAKING NEWS: Bed Bath & Beyond files bankruptcy; closing all stores

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc., which is headquartered in Union, New Jersey, on Sunday announced that it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on the U. S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey. The company said it is seeking “an orderly wind down of its businesses while conducting a limited marketing process to solicit interest in one or more sales of some or all of its assets.”

Bed Bath & Beyond said it has received a commitment of approximately $240 million in debtor-in-possession financing from Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc., which will be used to support operations during the Chapter 11 process.

In the wake of previous store closings that included locations in New York and Connecticut, the company said on Sunday that it has 360 “Bed Bath & Beyond” and 120 “buybuy BABY” stores remaining in addition to websites. The company said it has commenced a liquidation sale and that it will continue serving customers as it moves to close all of its retail locations.

The company said it “intends to uphold its commitments to customers, employees, and partners, including continued payment of employee wages and benefits, maintaining customer programs, and honoring obligations to critical vendors.”

Sue Gove, president and CEO of Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. said in the announcement, “We deeply appreciate our associates, customers, partners, and the communities we serve, and we remain steadfastly determined to serve them throughout this process. We will continue working diligently to maximize value for the benefit of all stakeholders.”

In its bankruptcy, filing the company said it has $5.2 billion in debts and $4.4 billion in assets. There has been speculation that Bed Bath & Beyond could emerge from bankruptcy as a much smaller retailer than before or as an online operation, but the company’s April 3 announcement was quite specific in saying it is winding down its businesses.