Tesco Plc’s Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market Inc. filed for bankruptcy so it can sell itself at auction with an affiliate of billionaire Ron Burkle’s Yucaipa Cos. as the lead bidder, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. Fresh & Easy yesterday listed debt of as much as $1 billion and assets of as much as $500 million in a court filing. Under the proposed deal, a Tesco affiliate would loan the Yucaipa affiliate $120 million to help fund the takeover. Tesco would get warrants to buy as much as 10 percent of the equity in the reorganized supermarket chain. Should Yucaipa win a proposed court-sanctioned auction, a Tesco unit would retain 22.5 percent of the equity in the reorganized chain.
