National retailer Big Lots, which is based in Columbus, Ohio, announced Thursday that it will begin having Going Out of Business (GOB) sales at all of its remaining stores.
The retail chain also announced it does not anticipate completing a previously announced asset purchase agreement with Nexus Capital Management and will continue working toward an alternative sale with either Nexus or another company. Big Lots, Inc. hopes to have the sale completed by early January.
With no deal set, the company will begin GOB sales to protect the value of its estate.
"We all have worked extremely hard and have taken every step to complete a going concern sale," Big Lots’ President and CEO Bruce Thorn said. "While we remain hopeful that we can close an alternative going concern transaction, in order to protect the value of the Big Lots estate, we have made the difficult decision to begin the GOB process."
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Big Lots did not immediately respond to FOX Business’ questions and a request for comment on the matter.
Big Lots launched Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in early September to help facilitate the sale of "substantially all" of its assets to its "stalking horse bidder" Nexus Capital Management.
The discount retailer said at the time that its board had concluded "entering into the Sale Agreement with Nexus, and initiating a court-supervised sale process, is the best path forward to maximize value and ensure continued operations." Nexus must be the winning bidder of a court-supervised auction for the transaction to close.
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Prior to filing Chapter 11, Big Lots told the SEC it planned to close 35-40 stores, which quickly grew to hundreds. The retailer operates around 1,400 stores across the U.S. and employs over 30,000 workers.
In the Chapter 11 filing in September, Big Lots said there would be additional store closures, and in October, it announced another 50 stores would be shuttering.
The discount retailer is known for selling home goods, furniture, seasonal decorations and other products.
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In the second quarter, Big Lots generated $1.05 billion in net sales, an over 8% decline compared to the same three-month period last year. Its quarterly net loss was nearly $238.46 million.
FOX Business’ Pilar Arias contributed to this report.
