Bon-Ton Stores Inc. said its namesake department-store subsidiary missed an interest payment on a bond that was due Friday, indicating the company could be inching closer to a bankruptcy filing early next year, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Bon-Ton Department Stores Inc. missed a $14 million coupon payment on its 8 percent second-lien notes that mature in 2021 and entered a 30-day grace period that protects its ability to continue borrowing under the facility, the company said. The Pennsylvania-based department-store chain has been grappling with a heavy debt load and sliding sales for months. Bank of America, one of the company’s lenders, gave Bon-Ton additional breathing room in late October with access to more borrowings under its revolver loans, allowing it to stock up for the all-important holiday shopping season. Under the agreement with Bank of America, however, Bon-Ton’s access to its revolver loans tighten once again after early December.
