GNC Holdings Inc. and its senior lenders are negotiating a bankruptcy loan just days before a crucial debt deadline for the vitamin retailer, Bloomberg News reported. The debtor-in-possession loan is being discussed as GNC approaches a potential early repayment of about $60 million to its asset-based lending facility on June 15. Lenders can force the payment if liquidity falls below a set level on that date, company filings show. No formal decisions have been made, but GNC is in active talks with its bank debt and loan holders about an extension or waiver. GNC has withheld rent payments to preserve cash as the pressure of the pandemic continues. The bankruptcy loan would keep the Pittsburgh-based company running while it works out a plan to turn around the business and rework its debts, which totaled $895 million at the end of the first quarter.
