Southeastern Grocers LLC, the Florida-based operator of supermarket chains Winn-Dixie and Bi-Lo, said today that it filed for chapter 11 protection to restructure debt, Reuters reported. The company listed assets in the range of $1 billion to $10 billion and liabilities in the range of $1 billion to $10 billion, the Delaware bankruptcy court filing showed. The restructuring will reduce its debt by $500 million as it will continue to operate over 580 stores, the company said. Southeastern Grocers has secured 100 percent committed exit financing in the form of a senior secured six-year term loan facility in the original principal amount of $525 million and an asset-based lending revolving credit facility. The company said earlier this month that it planned to file for bankruptcy and will close 94 underperforming stores.
