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Francesca’s has issued another warning that it could go bankrupt FootwearNews.com reported. In a filing on Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the already-struggling retailer announced that the coronavirus-induced shutdown of its more than 700 boutiques from late March through the end of April had led to significant declines in its comparable sales, net revenues and gross profits. It expressed a need to obtain additional financing to keep its business up and running or enter into chapter 11 protection. The warning comes a month after Francesca’s said it had substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern. It has also failed to pay rent on its leased locations for the months of April, May and June, which it said violates certain covenants under its asset-based credit and term loan agreements. As of Feb. 1, Francesca’s had 5,236 employees — 1,159 of which work full time and 4,077 part time — but it furloughed “substantially all of our corporate and boutique employees” in mid-April as part of broader efforts to improve liquidity. It has also reduced the base salaries of its senior leadership team, as well as suspended all capital expenditures and limited its investments in e-commerce.

The two largest mall landlords and Authentic Brands Group LLC are in talks to buy bankrupt department-store chain J.C. Penney Co., Bloomberg News reported. Authentic Brands may team up with Simon Property Group Inc. and Brookfield Property Partners LP to acquire the retailer as part of its court reorganization. J.C. Penney, which filed for chapter 11 protection in May, has been racing to firm up a business plan by a July 14 deadline, after which the company risks running out of cash to finance its reorganization and emerge from bankruptcy court. The company’s proposed exit plan involves creating two new publicly traded entities, including a real estate investment trust that would hold some of the retailer’s property. For the landlords, buying J.C. Penney would ensure the survival of one of their most ubiquitous tenants amid a wave of retail distress that has seen thousands of stores close permanently. That’s in addition to the pandemic lockdown that shuttered most retailers for months nationwide. Authentic teamed up with Simon and Brookfield to buy teen clothing chain Forever 21 out of bankruptcy earlier this year. And Authentic and Simon are also in discussions with Brooks Brothers Inc. on a joint bid that would be part of a potential bankruptcy filing by that clothing retailer, Bloomberg News reported last week.

A group of AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. bondholders have submitted an alternative proposal to the company’s distressed-debt exchange offer in an effort to avoid taking a steep haircut, Bloomberg News reported. The plan from the creditors, who are working with law firm Milbank, would give them potential equity in the struggling movie theater chain and greater possible upside in a recovery. AMC said earlier this week that it expects to be fully reopened worldwide next month. The proposal has been submitted to AMC’s investment bank Moelis & Co. for review. Earlier this month, AMC proposed a swap that would require investors to take a roughly 50 percent cut on the face value of four subordinated notes denominated in dollars and pounds. Those bonds sit below other debt in line for repayment, and the three dollar issues are trading at deeply distressed levels ranging from 35 cents to 36.5 cents on the dollar, according to Trace.

24 Hour Fitness Worldwide Inc. sought court protection from its creditors, unable to keep up with debt payments after the prolonged shutdown caused by coronavirus outbreak, Bloomberg News reported. The fitness chain’s chapter 11 petition was filed in Delaware, court papers show. Even before the onslaught of the coronavirus, middle-tier operators like 24 Hour struggled with customer defections to higher-end or budget-friendly fitness options. The gym operator posted a 2 percent revenue decline in unaudited fourth-quarter earnings, Bloomberg reported. Privately held 24 Hour, with more than 430 clubs and based in San Ramon, Calif., reported a slide in 2019 earnings partly due to the rocky debut of an automated system for checking in and signing up customers. Memberships at the company fell to 3.4 million in 2019’s third quarter from 3.5 million in the second quarter, according to Moody’s Investors Service. Chief Executive Officer Tony Ueber had to close all of the chain’s gyms in the middle of March, in line with other businesses across the U.S., to stop the spread of the virus. The company fully drew its $120 million credit line to cope with the expected impact of the pandemic. Management had been in talks with creditors to rework its debt load, but negotiations ended in a stalemate around the time of the closures, 24 Hour Fitness said in a March 23 earnings report.

A Nashville-based hospitality group has taken over operations and management of former Craftworks Holdings brands Logan’s Roadhouse, Old Chicago Pizza & Taproom and other concepts after a bankruptcy court cleared the sale last month, Restaurant Business reported. SPB Hospitality, an affiliate of Fortress Investment Group, will also oversee Rock Bottom Brewery, Gordon Biersch, ChopHouse & Brewery, Big River Grille & Brewing Works, AIA Ale Works Restaurant & Taproom, Ragtime Tavern Seafood & Grill, and Seven Bridges Grille & Brewery. The group acquired the brands for $93 million in waived debt and assumed liabilities. All of the group’s 261 restaurants had been “mothballed” in March, at the outset of the coronavirus pandemic, after a lender withdrew financing to keep the bankrupt company in operation. “Additional restaurants will reopen over the coming weeks in compliance with local laws and regulations,” the release said. “SPB anticipates operating restaurants in the 39 states across the U.S.”

Hertz Global Holdings Inc. is asking a bankruptcy judge to let it take advantage of the quixotic surge in its stock by selling up to $1 billion of new shares, Bloomberg News. Stocks of bankrupt companies typically get wiped out, but after an enormous two-week rally, the car rental giant envisions offering as many as 246.78 million common shares with help from Jefferies LLC, according to a court filing. Judge Mary Walrath set a hearing for today to consider the idea. Investors are bidding up Hertz and other bankrupt companies on optimism that the economy and specifically air travel is poised to rebound. Hertz might also benefit from prices of used cars at auctions coming all the way back from a mid-April collapse. Hertz based its request to the court on a nearly tenfold increase in its stock from 56 cents on May 26 to $5.53 on Monday, according to the filing. While the stock has slid to less than half that level, Hertz said a sale of its unissued shares still could help cover its debts. “The recent market prices of and the trading volumes in Hertz’s common stock potentially present a unique opportunity for the debtors to raise capital on terms that are far superior to any debtor-in-possession financing,” the company said, referring to a traditional bankruptcy loan. A share offering would avoid new interest, fees and restrictions on Hertz’s finances and wouldn’t impose any claims from a bankruptcy loan that would outrank existing creditors, the company said. Hertz said it would warn any potential buyers “the common stock could ultimately be worthless.”

Authentic Brands Group LLC and mall landlord Simon Property Group Inc. are in talks over a joint bid to buy Brooks Brothers Inc. as part of a bankruptcy reorganization of the men’s clothing retailer, Bloomberg News reported. Authentic and Simon, which have teamed up before on deals for Forever 21 Inc. and Aeropostale Inc., is in discussions with Brooks Brothers to buy it in a court-supervised sale after a chapter 11 filing being contemplated by the retailer. The two-century-old menswear company has been seeking buyers as many of its stores struggle, even before the Covid-19 pandemic that shuttered retailers nationwide, Bloomberg News reported last month. Authentic Brands, which owns fashion, celebrity and media brands, has been snapping up distressed retailers in the past year. In addition to Forever 21, it bought Barneys New York Inc. out of bankruptcy. Mall operators like Simon, meanwhile, have been stepping up their involvement following a wave of store closings and bankruptcies. Brookfield, the second-largest U.S. mall operator after Simon, created a $5 billion fund this year to buy stakes in retailers.

Men’s Wearhouse owner Tailored Brands Inc. said yesterday that it may have to seek bankruptcy protection or discontinue operations, if the Covid-19 crisis continues to pummel sales, Reuters reported. The retailer said it has taken “decisive actions to manage liquidity”, including borrowing money, while opening nearly half of its stores across the U.S. and Canada. The pandemic has added to Tailored Brands’ woes, as it had already been struggling with competition from fast-fashion brands and a shift to online shopping. As of May 2, the company had long-term debt of $1.4 billion and $244.2 million of cash and cash equivalents. First-quarter net sales for the retailer, which also owns men’s clothing store Jos. A. Bank, plunged 60.4 percent as stores were closed due to coronavirus-led nationwide lockdowns.