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U.S. surfwear retailer Boardriders Inc. will use $600 million of loans to back its purchase of Australian peer Billabong International Ltd, Reuters reported. The acquisition, announced on January 4, comes roughly two years after California-based Boardriders — formerly known as Quiksilver — emerged from a five-month stint in bankruptcy court precipitated by competition and operational issues that plagued performance. The designer and distributor of brands including Quiksilver, Roxy and DC Shoes filed for chapter 11 protection in September 2015 and transferred control to U.S. private equity firm Oaktree Capital Management, its largest debtholder, as part of the restructuring process. The investment firm currently holds 19 percent of Billabong, owner of the eponymous brand as well as RVCA, Element, VonZipper and Xcel. 

Sears Holdings Corp. said yesterday that it had raised $100 million in new financing and is pursuing an additional $200 million from other parties, the Wall Street Journal reported. It is also renegotiating the terms of about $1 billion of its debt to reduce cash interest expenses and extend maturities. Sears Chief Financial Officer Rob Riecker said that the new loan “demonstrates that we continue to have options to finance our business.” Still, the retailer is facing challenges with comparable-store sales falling 16 percent to 17 percent in the first two months of its fourth quarter even as it works to cut more costs. The company said it remained focused on returning to profitability and had identified $200 million of cost savings unrelated to store closures.

Hobbico Inc., a distributor of radio-controlled cars, boats, planes and model toys, filed for bankruptcy protection yesterday in Delaware, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The employee-owned company, which filed along with a handful of affiliates, listed estimated assets of between $10 million and $50 million and estimated liabilities of between $100 million and $500 million in a chapter 11 petition filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington. Headquartered in Champaign, Ill., Hobbico says on its website that it is the largest distributor of radio-controlled and general products for hobbyists in the U.S., and it counts among its customers Walmart Stores Inc., Target Corp. and Toys “R” Us Inc. Toys “R” Us itself filed for chapter 11 protection in September. One of Hobbico’s subsidiaries, Tower Hobbies, also sells products directly to customers on its website and through a mail-order catalog.

The Brass Tap, a San Antonio, Texas-based restaurant and bar with more than 50 varieties of craft beer, filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy and has closed, the San Antonio Express-News reported. Documents filed yesterday in bankruptcy court showed that Graystone Group Inc., doing business as The Brass Tap, had $123,743 in total assets and $727,151 in total liabilities. Texas Champion Bank was the largest secured creditor, according to the documents. It is owed $591,092. Read more. 

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A rash of store closures and bankruptcies last year prompted some investors to bet against debt tied to the retail property sector. So far, at least, the bets haven’t paid off, according to a Wall Street Journal commentary. The wager against commercial mortgage-backed securities largely has focused on the CMBX 6, a little-known credit default swap index that tracks the values of bonds backed by mortgages on malls as well as office buildings and other commercial properties. While a few slices of the index have slumped due to the perceived greater exposure to struggling mall properties and retail bankruptcies, more mall mortgage defaults would have to occur before investors will get a windfall. “Has the bet paid off? Not quite,” real-estate data provider Trepp Inc. said in a recent report. So far, Trepp said, only four loans tied to the CMBX 6 incurred losses, totaling just $4.3 million. Some landlords have refinanced their debt or found new tenants to take up space vacated by departing retailers, according to the commentary. At the same time, some retailers have worked out deals with landlords that allowed the owners to keep up their mortgage payments.

Several Gander Mountain stores are reopening as Gander Outdoors after Marcus Lemonis of the CNBC business turnaround show "The Profit" bought the company's assets in bankruptcy court, Crain's Detroit Business reported. The outdoor retailer's Utica, Mich., location reopened in mid-December and one in Port Huron is expected for May, according to a press release. Stores in Traverse City, Saginaw, Flint, Kalamazoo, Marquette and Coldwater are to reopen in spring. Lemonis' Camping World Holdings Inc. — Lincolnshire, Ill.-based outdoor and sporting retailer — purchased "certain assets" of Gander Mountain Co. in May. Gander Outdoors will continue to focus on hunting, camping, fishing and other outdoor sports.

Sears Holdings, parent company of Sears and Kmart stores, told its employees yesterday that it will be closing more than 100 additional stores this year, CNBC.com reported. That consists of 64 Kmart stores and 39 Sears stores, all of which are expected to shut between early March and April. Sears wouldn't say how many of its employees would be impacted by the closings but did say the majority of the jobs are part-time positions, and eligible associates will receive severance. Liquidation sales will begin as early as Jan. 12 at the closing stores, Sears said.

A wave of store closings and retailer bankruptcies is coming in early 2018, as the industry deteriorates faster than analysts had expected a year ago, according to Credit Suisse Group AG, Bloomberg News reported. The retail business’s “large and undeniable transformation” will crimp rents and vacancy rates this year, strategists Roger Lehman and Benjamin Rozyn wrote in a note Thursday. Bonds backed by these loans will likely weaken, they added. Even if the just-ended Christmas shopping season was the best for retailers in a decade, according to early estimates, mall staples like Macy’s Inc. and J.C. Penney Co. haven’t wowed investors with their results. Although those companies are far from bankruptcy, Macy’s said yesterday that it was closing 11 stores in early 2018. While most commercial mortgages for retail space will continue to perform in the coming years, the reduction in financing options available to mall and store owners “could spell trouble” when the loans mature, the analysts wrote.

Charming Charlie has proposed a plan to ease its debt load and secure new financing as it executes a strategy to boost profits after months of inventory problems and declining sales, the Houston Chronicle reported. The plan would allow the Houston-based jewelry and accessories retailer to wipe about $69 million from its balance sheet after filing for chapter 11 protection in Delaware last month. Lenders would assume control of the company and provide additional loans to help it emerge from bankruptcy and overhaul operations. The plan swaps $132 million in debt for new equity issued to the company's lenders. It cancels all existing stock, which is also held by private equity firm Hancock Park Associates, Chanaratsopon's family members and other investors.

Toys ‘R’ Us is poised to put struggling stores on the chopping block in early 2018 as the company aims to reorganize its operations in bankruptcy following the holiday shopping season, USA Today reported. The big-box retailer revealed in court filings that it had already hired a firm that specializes in evaluating stores for liquidation. Toys ‘R’ Us did not reveal how many stores it plans to close. But the company said in a court filing that it had hired New York-based Malfitano Partners for help "soliciting and evaluating proposals to liquidate the inventory and furniture, fixtures, and equipment in certain store locations that the (company has) identified for closing." Analysts at investment-bank UBS estimated on Dec. 19 that 183 Toys ‘R’ Us stores — or roughly 21 percent of the company’s U.S. locations — could be shuttered in 2018.