While we thought we knew that Toys R Us / Babies R Us were closing all of its United States and United Kingdom stores, its Canadian operations are hot commodities.
Also, it turns out that some of the most successful U.S. stores may be part of the sale of the Canadian side of the business; they could remain open too.
Canadian Press reports:
- U.S. court filings show that debtors for Toys “R” Us have received multiple non-binding offers for the Canadian division of the troubled retailer.
The bankruptcy documents say debtors had reached out to more than 20 interested parties in a bid to sell off the 82 stores in Canada as the toy retailer looks to wind down operations.
The debtors say a number of parties signed non-disclosure agreements and received access to an electronic data room for the potential bids, and that they are actively negotiating with some of them.
The filings say debtors are looking to combine up to 200 of the best-performing U.S. stores with the Canadian sell-off, as first mentioned by Toys “R” Us CEO David Brandon last week, and have initiated conversations about the combined sale.
MGA Entertainment, the California company behind Bratz dolls and other toys, confirmed last week that its CEO Isaac Larian and affiliated investors were bidders for the Toys “R” Us Canada operations.
Toys “R” Us has said it’s closing or selling its 740 stores as well as its international operations, with filings showing the company has received “several” non-binding offers for all or parts of the European business and has asked for offers for the Asian-Pacific business by early April.
