J.C. Penney Co. received an offer for about $300 million in new financing just before it started the clock on a potential bankruptcy filing, Bloomberg News reported. The retailer’s decision to skip a debt payment on April 15 and start a 30-day countdown to default took some of its investors by surprise because the chain had just paid April rent on its stores. What’s more, it had cash to make the bond payment, and creditors are interested in providing J.C. Penney with financing out of bankruptcy. The offer came from creditors who are in a group of first-lien and second-lien lenders that is organized with advisers at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP and Evercore Inc. The loan would be secured by real estate that J.C. Penney hasn’t already pledged to other debt. Separately, first-lien creditors are exploring alternatives that could see them offer financing backed by the unencumbered real estate. That creditor group, which includes KKR & Co. and Ares Management Corp., is being advised by White & Case LLP and Houlihan Lokey Inc.
