U.S. teen retailer Aeropostale Inc. plans to challenge in court private equity firm Sycamore Partners' claims as a creditor in its bankruptcy, Reuters reported yesterday. The fight between Aeropostale and Sycamore stands out from other bankruptcy cases of U.S. teen retailers, because very few of them triggered litigation. It could also complicate any effort by Sycamore to take over the retailer. The lawsuit, expected to be filed today, would follow an investigation by Aeropostale over the past several weeks into whether Sycamore drove the company into bankruptcy, in part by making the terms of its debt investment in the company in 2014 deliberately onerous. Sycamore affiliates loaned Aeropostale $150 million in 2014, and, as part of the deal, required that the chain make merchandise purchases from one of Sycamore's companies, MGF Sourcing. Aeropostale has said that MGF imposed new, burdensome terms on the retailer that precipitated its bankruptcy.
