(Bloomberg) — Private equity firm Nexus Capital Management is working with Big Lots Inc.’s lenders to get roughly $750 million in financing as part of a previously announced deal to acquire the retailer out of bankruptcy, an attorney for the discount chain said in a Monday court hearing in Delaware.
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Big Lots’ lawyer Jonah Peppiatt said during the hearing that the retailer and its stakeholders expect Nexus will obtain the financing “to firm up its bid” ahead of a Friday bid deadline. Nexus’ offer is in the form of a stalking horse bid, meaning Big Lots could proceed with a better offer if any materialize by the deadline.
The financing was discussed in court after Judge J. Kate Stickles questioned Big Lots’ request to compensate Nexus if the retailer chooses a different buyer for its business. That request will now be heard later this week, after the financing in support of Nexus’ stalking horse bid is finalized, lawyers said during Monday’s hearing.
When it filed Chapter 11 in September, Big Lots announced it had come to a sales agreement with a Nexus affiliate for the latter to acquire substantially all of the retail chain’s business. Nexus Managing Director Evan Glucoft said at the time that the firm intends to “help return this iconic brand to its status as America’s leading extreme value retailer.”
The case is Big Lots Inc., number 24-11967, in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.
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