Bed Bath & Beyond picks Overstock as lead bidder

BLOOMBERG

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc has picked Overstock.com Inc as the lead bidder in an upcoming bankruptcy auction for the right to own the big box store’s brand.
Overstock’s $21.5 million cash offer has been selected as the stalking-horse bidder for Bed Bath & Beyond’s intellectual property, according to court papers filed, setting the price floor for the bankrupt retailer’s brand.
The bid must be approved by a bankruptcy judge and doesn’t include the retailer’s desirable Buy Buy Baby brand or its Harmon unit, court papers show.
The offer puts Overstock, one of the nation’s top Internet retailers, in a favourable position to acquire Bed Bath & Beyond’s intellectual property out of bankruptcy. Overstock would be paid a break up fee of up-to $430,000 plus expenses should Bed Bath & Beyond’s advisers select a competing offer at auction.
Final bids for Bed Bath & Beyond’s assets were due on June 16, and an auction will be held June 21 if rival bids materialise in the next couple days.
A New Jersey bankruptcy judge is scheduled to consider approving the sale at a hearing.
Lawyers representing Bed Bath & Beyond and its unsecured creditors declined to comment. Overstock didn’t immediately return a message seeking comment.
Bed Bath & Beyond filed bankruptcy in April with plans to liquidate the retail chain listing more than $5.2 billion in total debt as of last year.