A long-running dispute over the future of Toys “R” Us Inc.’s healthy Asian retail business has come to an end, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The Asian business’s proposed new owners, a group of bondholders, have reached a deal with minority owner Fung Retailing Ltd. to form a partnership to operate the business, according to a Thursday news release. When Toys “R” Us announced it would wind down its U.S. business in March, it said that it would either sell or liquidate its international entities. The Asian business was considered the most prized among them. Fung owned a 15 percent stake in the Asian business, the result of a joint venture signed in April 2017, just months before Toys “R” Us’s bankruptcy filing. Early on, the TRU Taj foreign arm of Toys “R” Us sought in U.S. bankruptcy court to invalidate Fung’s right of first refusal and sell 100 percent of the equity. Fung pushed back, arguing that it didn’t fall under the jurisdiction of U.S. courts and that bid procedures should protect its rights. A U.S. bankruptcy judge overruled the objection, but Fung appealed.
