Bed Bath & Beyond in Talks to Sell Assets

Bed Bath Beyond, the struggling home goods retailer, is in talks with the private equity firm Sycamore Partners to sell assets, including its Buy Buy Baby stores, as part of a possible bankruptcy process, people familiar with the matter said. The retailer is also in talks with other suitors about possible transactions.

Buy Buy Baby’s fall hasn’t been as sharp as that of its parent, the DealBook newsletter reports. Bed Bath Beyond overexpanded and struggled to remain competitive, but Buy Buy Baby has maintained a strong position in a clearly defined market, and its fall in sales has been less pronounced.

On Tuesday, the company said the decrease in Buy Buy Baby’s third-quarter sales was in the low 20 percent range compared with the year before, while Bed Bath Beyond’s sales declined 34 percent. In 2020, the infant and children’s goods chain generated about $1 billion in sales, according to an investor presentation.

Bed Bath Beyond said this month that it was looking for fresh funds after a disappointing holiday season, including a sale of itself in pieces or as a whole. Buy Buy Baby remains a crown jewel for the retailer, but it might be difficult to sell the business as a stand-alone unit, because creditors might resist losing what is arguably the company’s most valuable entity. One way to get around that is for potential buyers to acquire the entire company and close a number of Bed Bath Beyond locations, one of the sources said.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/13/business/bed-bath-beyond-bankruptcy-assets.html