Though it’s been on bankruptcy watch for weeks and many expected it to file any day, Bed Bath & Beyond isn’t ready to give up just yet. The distressed home goods retailer on Monday announced plans for a public offering to help it pay off its debts and possibly avoid bankruptcy.
Bed Bath & Beyond announced plans to sell shares of Series A convertible preferred stock. The retailer said it expects to raise approximately $225 million from the offering, along with a potential $800 million through the issuance of securities requiring the holder to purchase shares of Series A preferred stock in future installments.
That more than $1 billion, along with another $100 from its credit facility, would be used to repay Bed Bath & Beyond’s outstanding loans. The company recently defaulted on a number of debts, including a loan from JP Morgan Chase and interest on more than $1 billion in bonds. In a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing from January, Bed Bath & Beyond admitted it did not have enough cash to cover its debts.
Bed Bath & Beyond also filed a notice on Monday with the SEC naming Holly Etlin as the retailer’s new interim chief financial officer. Etlin has years of experience turning around companies, including serving as chief restructuring officer for Tailored Brands, Inc., parent company of men’s clothing retailers Jos. A. Bank and Men’s Wearhouse. Etlin currently serves as partner and managing director of AlixPartners, which Bed Bath & Beyond brought on as a restructuring advisor in January.
Etlin replaces Laura Crossen, who took on the interim CFO role in September after previous CFO Gustavo Arnal took his life after being named in a pump-and-dump lawsuit. Crossen will step back into her role of senior vice president of finance and chief accounting officer.
Meanwhile, meme stock traders pumped up shares of Bed Bath & Beyond ahead of the announcement, causing it to surge nearly 100 percent during afternoon trading before dropping by close.