Bertucci’s Inc., the chain of Italian eateries rooted in the Boston area, will be auctioned off after filing for bankruptcy protection amid intense competition for diners who have less time for sit-down dining, Bloomberg News reported. The closely held restaurant company, based in Northborough, Mass., may close about half its locations and plans to hold an auction where the opening bid will be worth about $19.7 million, Chief Financial Officer Brian Connell said in court papers filed Sunday. An affiliate of Right Lane Capital has agreed to buy the chain should no higher offers come in, Eric Mara with Right said yesterday. Bertucci’s owes about $110 million to lenders, and about $9 million to suppliers, landlords and other unsecured creditors, the company said in the court papers filed in Wilmington, Del. Units of CIT Group Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co. were listed as first lien lenders. The chain is owned by an affiliate of Levine Leichtman Capital Partners, court papers show.
