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The U.S. trustee in the Toys ’R Us bankruptcy case has filed a strongly worded objection to the company's plan to pay between $16 million and $32 million to its 17 most highly paid executives, USA Today reported. "It defies logic and wisdom," the objection by U.S. Trustee Judy A. Robbins states, that Toys ’R Us is proposing "multimillion-dollar bonuses for the senior leadership of a company that began the year with employee layoffs and concludes it in the midst of the holiday season in bankruptcy.” Toys ’R Us filed a motion Nov. 15 asking for permission for an executive incentive bonus plan that would give its top executives $16 million in extra pay. Those bonuses would double to $32 million if certain financial goals were reached. Robbins noted that five of the top Toys ’R Us executives also received $8.2 million in retention bonuses five days before the bankruptcy filing in September. Those bonuses included a $2.8 million payment to CEO Dave Brandon "just to stay with the company," the objection states.

Women's apparel chain New York & Co. Inc. emerged as the winning bidder in the recent bankruptcy auction of Fashion to Figure, the New York Business Journal reported. The 99-year-old company agreed to purchase plus-size retailer for a total of $2.4 million, including all fees and expenses. Fashion to Figure was founded in 2004 by the great-grandsons of Lena Bryant, the founder of the plus-size clothing chain Lane Bryant. According to a prepared statement, New York & Co. — with 459 retail stores — now owns the intellectual property rights related to the Fashion to Figure, which was in the midst of an ongoing reorganization after it filed chapter 11. The asset-purchase agreement also covers trademarks, tradenames, an extensive customer database and all in-store assets, with the exception of inventory. Negotiations to secure inventory for the anticipated relaunch will begin in early 2018.

Two months after coming out of bankruptcy, Rue21 Holdings Inc., the mall-centric teen apparel retailer, has won back the support of a group of key financiers who extend credit to its suppliers, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Still, the company’s shares are languishing at bottom-of-the-barrel levels in a sign of scant investor interest in taking a bet on the retailer ahead of the crucial holiday shopping season. The shift in ​attitude among so-called factors, which buy accounts receivables at a discount from suppliers with the expectation of getting full payment from retailers at a later date, comes at a crucial time for Rue21 as the holiday shopping season kicks off. Rue21 filed for bankruptcy in April after its suppliers refused to ship goods without substantial cash up front or quicker cash payments. The company emerged from bankruptcy on Sept. 22, 2017.

Maurice Sporting Goods Inc., a privately owned distributor of outdoor sports equipment that has filed for bankruptcy, received permission Tuesday to access a financial lifeline that is intended to keep it afloat as it moves to complete a sale of the business before Christmas, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Sontchi of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., approved Maurice’s request to begin drawing from a $17.4 million bankruptcy loan provided by the company’s senior lender, BMO Harris Bank N.A. The order allows Maurice immediate access to up to $13.39 million on an interim basis. The court also signed off on other requests that will allow Maurice to keep the lights on as it eases into chapter 11.

Toys ‘R’ Us is seeking bankruptcy court permission to pay Dave Brandon, the company’s chief executive officer since 2015, a cash bonus of as much as $12 million for 2017, on top of a $2.8 million “retention” bonus he received just before the company filed for bankruptcy in September, the Wall Street Journal reported. Moreover, Brandon would be entitled to receive 40 percent of that bonus, or $4.8 million, within the first quarter of 2018, according to court filings. The request for a bonus for Brandon is part of a broader plan by Toys ‘R’ Us to award bonuses to company executives and rank-and-file employees ahead of the retailer’s crucial holiday season, the spokeswoman added. Brandon and 16 other top executives are entitled to a total of $32 million in maximum bonuses if the company’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) hits $616 million for 2017, or 22 percent below the 2016 level of $792 million. Toys ‘R’ Us’ lawyers at Kirkland & Ellis LLP have said that hitting that Ebitda level is highly unlikely, according to papers filed in court last week.