Bluestem Brands Inc., which for decades has been selling everything from apparel to appliances through its Fingerhut catalogs, filed for bankruptcy yesterday with a deal to sell its business to Cerberus Capital Management’s lending arm, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Eden Prairie, Minn.-based retailer said that it filed with a proposed deal to sell its various businesses and brands to an investment vehicle backed by lenders led by Cerberus Business Finance, which is also providing a $125 million bankruptcy loan. The transaction is subject to higher and better offers, and the company has hired investment bank Raymond James Financial Inc. to conduct a sale process. Bluestem in its court filing blamed its financial problems on many of the challenges brought on by increased competition from retailers like Walmart Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. The company has also had to deal with some $460 million in debt, a burden that proved to be an unsustainable drain on liquidity, according to Thomas L. Fairfield, a Bluestem director.
