Brookstone Inc. filed for chapter 11 protection listing assets of $50 million to $100 million and liabilities of $100 million to $500 million, Bloomberg News reported. This will be Brookstone’s second trip to bankruptcy court since 2014, when the Merrimack, N.H.-based company filed a chapter 11 petition with a deal to sell its assets to Spencer Spirit Holdings Inc. for about $146.3 million. A group of Chinese buyers backed by retailing conglomerate Sanpower Group and Hong Kong-based private-equity firm Sailing Capital subsequently outbid Spencer with a deal valued at about $174 million. The 53-year-old company began with an ad placed in Popular Mechanics, according to its website, and was named after the farm where the founders lived. In 1973, it expanded from its catalog offerings (with items like self-watering plant pots) to open its first store. The company says it helped introduce brands such as Fitbit and iRobot to American consumers.
