Bankrupt jewelry seller Claire’s Stores Inc. will spend the summer evaluating potential buyers after a judge ordered the retailer to open up the sale of the company to all bidders, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Bankruptcy Judge Mary Walrath on Friday set an Aug. 31 deadline for bids for the company, part of a revived marketing process ordered in response to creditor complaints that Claire’s previous attempts to sell itself were flawed. Claire’s, which filed for bankruptcy protection in March, said it looked for buyers before and after agreeing to a restructuring deal backed by the retailer’s private-equity owner Apollo Global Management and top ranking lenders, Elliott Management Corp. and Monarch Alternative Capital LP, but came up empty-handed. Bondholder Oaktree Capital Management criticized the marketing process as being designed to ward off competition. Among other things, Claire’s insisted that bidders offer cash only, and in an amount sufficient to pay off first-lien debt.
