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A battle is brewing for control of Brooks Brothers Group Inc., with at least two apparel ventures looking to take over the bankrupt clothing retailer, the Wall Street Journal reported. Sparc Group LLC, an apparel company backed by Authentic Brands Group LLC and mall owner Simon Property Group Inc., is considering bidding to buy Brooks Brothers out of bankruptcy. WHP Global Inc., which has agreed to finance Brooks Brothers during its bankruptcy, is also crafting a buyout offer. Brooks Brothers filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday after two centuries in business, unable to withstand the coronavirus pandemic and the forced shutdown of retail shopping. The company, which struggled in recent years with a shift toward more casual dress styles at work, will soon start a formal process to field offers. Both potential bidders are planning to keep most Brooks Brothers stores intact, betting that the retailer’s survival is tied to a strong brick-and-mortar presence.

AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. is set to announce a deal with bondholders that would allow private equity firm Silver Lake to jump up the repayment-priority line, setting the stage for another credit-market brawl as companies dealing with the fallout of COVID-19 seek to restructure their debts, Bloomberg News reported. The transaction, which is expected to launch in the coming days, would provide $200 million of new money and see subordinated bondholders exchange their securities at a discount for new second-lien notes, according to people with knowledge of the situation. It will also extend the maturity on $600 million of convertible bonds held by Silver Lake for two years in exchange for first-lien priority on certain collateral. A group of existing first-lien lenders including Apollo Global Management Inc., Ares Management Corp. and Eaton Vance Corp. are opposing the deal, arguing it benefits certain creditors over others at the expense of the company, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing a private matter. The cinema chain has been trying to hash out an accord for weeks as it looks to raise cash, manage its more than $5 billion debt burden and avoid a potential bankruptcy.

The U.S. entity of Japanese retailer Muji, known for its minimalist home goods, filed for bankruptcy, adding to a growing list of industry companies reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic, Bloomberg News reported. Muji U.S.A Ltd., which is operated by Ryohin Keikaku Co., filed for chapter 11 in Delaware, according to a filing. It listed assets and liabilities in the range of $50 million to $100 million, and estimated the number of creditors at 200 to 999. Ryohin Keikaku said in a separate statement that Muji U.S.A. filed for bankruptcy due to shutdowns from the coronavirus. The company had been grappling with losses due to high rent and other costs, and was taking steps to improve sales and renegotiate rents before the pandemic hit, it said. In the last fiscal year, sales from U.S. operations, where there are 19 stores, made up about 2.5 percent of Ryohin Keikaku’s revenue. The U.S. business has been operating at a loss for the past three fiscal years. Last year, it had a loss of around $10 million, according to its bankruptcy statement.

Apparel brand Brooks Brothers filed for chapter 11 yesterday, joining a list of decades-old American retailers that have crumbled under the impact of the coronavirus crisis, Reuters reported. The 200-year old apparel retailer said that its strategic review process was still underway and the bankruptcy filing would help it obtain additional financing to facilitate the sale. “During this strategic review, COVID-19 became immensely disruptive and took a toll on our business,” a company spokesperson said. Owned by Italian billionaire Claudio Del Vecchio, the privately held company boasts of having dressed 40 former U.S. presidents including John F. Kennedy and Barack Obama and has about 500 stores around the world, most of which had to be closed due to coronavirus-led restrictions. Brooks Brothers said it secured $75 million in debtor-in-possession financing and that, along with cash flows from ongoing operations, would give it liquidity to support it through the sale process. In a District of Delaware court filing, the company stated that it had assets and liabilities between $500 million and $1 billion.

Sur La Table Inc., the specialty retailer of high-end kitchen wares and cooking classes, filed for bankruptcy with plans that could result in a sale to affiliates of Fortress Investment Group, Bloomberg News reported. The company’s chapter 11 filing in New Jersey includes financing to keep Sur La Table in business and support from its existing lenders. The Seattle-based company listed assets and liabilities of as much as $500 million each in its bankruptcy petition. The chain closed its stores and canceled cooking classes across the country in March as the virus clamped down on commerce in the U.S., according to the company’s website. By July 4, 121 Sur La Table stores across the country reopened, according to Wednesday’s statement, which said some of its locations will be closed permanently. The bankruptcy plan calls for Fortress to act as a stalking-horse bidder. Fortress is working with STORY3 Capital Partners, the company said. Sur La Table traces its roots to Seattle’s Pike Place Market in 1972. It has grown from just 86 stores when Investcorp acquired it in 2011 for $146 million, according to a filing and statement at the time.

A pair of serial entrepreneurs beat out private-equity firm Sycamore Partners in a bidding war to purchase home-goods retailer Pier 1 Imports Inc.’s branding and e-commerce business out of bankruptcy, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Retail Ecommerce Ventures LLC, owned by retail entrepreneurs Tai Lopez and Alex Mehr, was named the highest bidder at the bankruptcy auction yesterday, offering $31 million to acquire Pier 1’s intellectual property, data and other assets related to its e-commerce business. Sycamore Partners, a New York firm specializing in retail and consumer investments, is the backup bidder with a $30.9 million offer. The auction pushed up the sale price from the roughly $20 million Retail Ecommerce Ventures initially offered as the stalking horse, or lead bidder. The venture has been piling up retail assets since last year, purchasing the brand assets of Dressbarn and its e-commerce business from Ann Taylor and Lane Bryant parent company Ascena Retail Group Inc., then taking over online housewares retailer Linens ‘n Things and high-end collectible purveyor Franklin Mint last week. A hearing to approve the sale is scheduled for July 30 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Richmond, Va. If the sale is given the green light, Retail Ecommerce Ventures plans to make Pier 1 an online-only business. Pier 1’s retail operations are winding down after failing to secure a buyer.

J.C. Penney turned its business plan in to lenders yesterday, meeting a deadline to have the document finished, but now it wants to extend the time it has left to negotiate its future, the Dallas Morning News reported. Lenders are required to decide by Tuesday whether the 118-year-old retailer will move forward as a restructured company. If not, the company’s assets will be sold off, and the current operation will go out of business. Penney wants to talk its lenders into believing it has a future after it exits bankruptcy later this year. The company has proposed that it be reorganized as two entities — a real estate investment trust, or REIT, that owns some of the property and a successor to the J.C. Penney operating company. Penney’s attorney Joshua Sussberg of Kirkland & Ellis said there has been progress in negotiations, not only with its lenders but also with potential buyers of Penney’s retail business and prospective investors in the REIT. “We’re going to need more time. Our conversations have been incredibly productive,” Sussberg told U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David Jones at a hearing Wednesday afternoon. “We believe we will come to an agreement and solution and avoid the outcome no one wants.” Sussberg also said Penney had started paying rent for June and July after the court allowed it to delay the payments until July 13. The business plan document isn’t public and wasn’t filed with the court but has been shared with lenders, creditors, the ad hoc equity committee and potential investors, Sussberg said.

DavidsTea is seeking court protection from creditors so it can continue operating while it restructures and plans to close a significant number of its stores, the Globe and Mail reported. The Montreal-based company said today that it will seek an order in Quebec Superior Court to allow it to restructure under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act. It also plans to seek similar orders for its U.S. subsidiary under chapter 15 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. The company said during the restructuring process it plans to continue operating online through davidstea.com and its wholesale distribution channel, which supplies grocery stores and pharmacies. The chain’s stores have been shut since March 17 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “The transformation of our business model is necessary to position the company for a return to profitability,” chief financial officer Frank Zitella said in a statement. “DavidsTea has experienced a multi-year decline in brick and mortar sales and the post COVID-19 retail environment creates significant challenges for our unique in-store customer experience.” It had warned in mid-June that it hadn’t paid rent on any of its stores for April, May and June and that it may seek a formal restructuring.

Ascena Retail Group Inc., the owner of mall brands that occupy almost 3,000 stores in the U.S., is preparing to file for bankruptcy and shutter at least 1,200 of those locations, Bloomberg News reported. The company, which owns brands such as Ann Taylor and Lane Bryant, could enter chapter 11 as soon as this week with a creditor agreement in place that eliminates around $700 million of its $1.1 billion debt load. Lenders including Eaton Vance Corp. would assume control of the company. Ascena has experienced years of financial losses amid a boom in online shopping and slowdown in foot traffic at malls. The bankruptcy filing would allow the company to keep some of its brands operating while it shutters or sells others, the people said. Catherines and Justice are among the chains it’s considering to close or sell. The plan is not final and certain details could change. Ascena shut its shops in mid-March as the coronavirus outbreak spread, and began to re-open locations in early May as state authorities lifted restrictions. Customer traffic is much lower than normal at the revived stores, the company said in an update on the impact from COVID-19 on its business. Like other retailers, the company cited a slump in sales tied to the closures. The company’s earnings and cash flow have been “significantly reduced” despite efforts to preserve liquidity, Carrie Teffner, Ascena’s interim executive chair, said in the update. Ascena previously failed to sell two of its chains amid the losses and signs that creditors were losing confidence in its prospects. In September management discussed divesting Catherines and Lane Bryant, which specialize in plus-size women’s apparel, Bloomberg reported.