Bed Bath & Beyond files for bankruptcy protection after long struggle

The home goods retailer Bed Bath & Beyond Inc (BBBY.O) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Sunday after failing to raise enough money to stay viable.

According to a court filing, the Union, New Jersey-based home goods firm filed for bankruptcy in a court for the District of New Jersey, describing its estimated assets and liabilities as being between $1 billion and $10 billion.

In a second statement, Bed Bath & Beyond stated that Sixth Street Specialty Lending Inc. has committed to providing debtor-in-possession finance for up to $240 million.

The firm noted that while it starts making steps to close its retail locations, its 360 Bed Bath & Beyond and 120 buybuy BABY stores and websites would stay open and continue to serve customers.

The struggling company had intended to raise close to $1 billion in February through the sale of preferred shares and warrants in order to stay out of bankruptcy.

The tricky transaction enabled the business to raise $360 million, which it used to cover senior notes interest and loan defaults.

However, Bed Bath canceled the agreement in late March, announced intentions to sell $300 million worth of its shares, and issued a new warning that it could have to declare bankruptcy if it was unable to raise the money.

Granth Vanaik, Ananya Mariam Rajesh, and Anirudh Saligrama reported from Bengaluru; Nick Zieminski edited the article.