Bon-Ton Stores Inc., a bankrupt department store chain, will begin a going-out-of-business sale at its 200 U.S. locations in the coming days after two liquidators won an auction for the company, Reuters reported. Bon-Ton, which traces its roots to 1854, had hoped in recent days that a pair of landlords and a private equity firm would actively bid at the auction and try to save the business. However, sources told Reuters on Monday that the auction started without the landlord group. Great American Group and Tiger Capital Group, which specialize in winding down retail chains, won the auction with a bid estimated to be worth $775.5 million. The pair bid against other liquidators. A portion of the winning bid came in the form of a credit bid, or when a creditor uses some of what they are owed instead of cash, sources told Reuters. Bondholders’ credit bid contributed at least $100 million to the value of the winning bid.
