DealReporter (which we are reminded is not always on the money with their speculative stories) says in a piece carried on FT.com that privately-held Follett “is in the midst of a sale process,” according to two bankers. Their sources say that Credit Suisse has been retained to advised the company, in which the Follett family still has “significant ownership,” and “the company plans to hold management presentations at the end of July with potential suitors.” (DR is a little confused about Follett’s business, thinking that they are a publisher.) Follett’s site says they have over $2.7 billion in sales annually, […]
Finance
Judge Glenn Grants Preliminary Approval to Liquidators As Stalking Horse Bid; Objections Postponed to Monday Afternoon
Uncertainty over exactly what Najafi Companies intended to do with Borders if they bought it led to the collapse of their purchase offer by the end of Wednesday, and now the chain is headed to liquidation unless another bidder comes forward or Najafi prevails during the actual auction. The bid from liquidators that Borders had submitted to the court at the same time as the Najafi offer has been made the “stalking horse bid” for the July 19 auction, which just received Judge Martin Glenn’s approval this morning in court, pending filing of revised papers. Glenn, whose patience was wearing […]
Borders Is Headed to Liquidation As Najafi Offer Is Withdrawn (Or Not “Supported”)
Uncertainty over exactly what Najafi Companies intended to do with Borders if they bought it led to collapse of the purchase offer by the end of Wednesday and the chain is headed to liquidation unless another bidder comes forward or Najafi prevails during the actual auction. In the day’s preamble, the creditors committee filed an objection in bankruptcy court to Najafi’s offer, which was so open-ended as to allow the possibility that he would still cancel leases and liquidate the chain while keeping “valuable intellectual property (i.e., the Borders name and related intellectual property rights) and other assets for less […]
Borders Assures Landlords That The Rush To Sell is The Fault of Lenders
Though the myriad of objections filed by landlords by Monday afternoon’s deadline over Borders’ prospective sale to Najafi was par for the course, Borders filed their own response motion in bankruptcy court late Tuesday. In it they say the accelerated sale process owes to GE Capital’s stipulation under the amended financing agreement that the company must find a buyer by July 29 – and have the sale approved by July 22 — lest they default. “The sale simply cannot take place in the timeframe required if there are any further delays in the schedule,” Borders stated. “If the sale does […]
Briefs: BBC Takes Big Writedown on Lonely Planet; Collins Buys A&R Franchise Stores
BBC Worldwide write down nearly £34 million (or $54 million) on the value of Lonely Planet, after paying £42 million earlier this year for the remaining 25 percent of the company outside of its control. (The BBC bought a 75 percent stake in 2007 for £89 million.) “The strength of the Australian dollar in recent years has led to challenging sales conditions for the Lonely Planet business,” said the company in a statement. “This has been compounded by declines since 2008 in key travel guide markets suffering from the impact of the global financial crisis.” The rise in the Australian […]
Amazon Agitates for Voter Referendum to Overturn California Tax Law
Amazon’s next move in the California sales tax battle is to support an effort to revoke the new law that makes online retailers with affiliates or subsidiaries subject to sales tax through a voter referendum. In the first phase, they will need over half a million signatures from voters by the end of September to get on the ballot. But it’s not clear that overturning the new requirements would hold much appeal for individual voters beyond the 25,000 or so revoked affiliates in the state, since earlier California law requires individuals to pay sales for their online purchases, whether or […]