A Chinese consortium that won an auction to buy Brookstone Holdings Corp. out of bankruptcy plans to keep nearly all of the specialty retailer's 240 stores open despite earlier indications that it could close as many as 25 locations, an attorney for Brookstone told a bankruptcy judge on Friday, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. Sailing Innovation US Inc. — a collaboration between Chinese investment firm Sailing Capital Overseas Investment Fund LP and Chinese conglomerate Sanpower Group, with a financing commitment from GE Capital — emerged as the winner for Brookstone at a June 2 auction with a bid valued at about $174 million. The deal includes $137.5 million in cash, $10 million in second-lien notes, and the assumption of about $28 million in liabilities, K&L Gates LLP partner Charles Dale said on Friday during a hearing before Bankruptcy Judge Brendan Shannon.
