Teen clothing retailer Aeropostale Inc. won court permission to sell its assets to buyers led by Simon Property Group Inc. and General Growth Properties Inc. after the landlords banded together with liquidators to save jobs and stores — a novel approach that lawyers said could be a model for distressed retailers, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. The group prevailed at a Sept. 2 auction with a $243 million bid and a plan to keep open at least 229 stores. Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane approved the sale yesterday after being told by the retailer’s lawyers that the arrangement would save at least 7,000 jobs. “This could be a model for future restructurings in the years ahead,” Ray Schrock, a lawyer for Aeropostale, told Lane. Read more.
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