J.C. Penney is reportedly in talks with lenders ahead of a bankruptcy filing that could occur by the end of this week.
According to a CNBC report citing unnamed “people familiar with the situation,” the retailer is seeking $450 million in financing on a “debtor in possession” loan that would require the company to achieve specific goals in order to receive the second half of the loan.
The sum is less than the $1 billion the retailer initially sought, although J.C. Penney would be able to draw $225 million of its bankruptcy loan on the first day of the loan”™s approval.
CNBC”™s sources stated J.C. Penney could file for bankruptcy as early as Friday, and it is considering a plan to close between 180 and 200 stores while in bankruptcy. The company operated 846 stores and had about 90,000 full-time and part-time employees before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the nation”™s department stores.
J.C. Penney has a Fairfield County presence in Danbury and Trumbull. In New York, the retailer has stores in Middletown and Poughkeepsie; its store at Palisades Center in West Nyack closed in 2017.
