Filene's Basement Bankruptcy Hearing Delayed

Filene’s Basement bankruptcy hearing delayed as auction continues
By Donna Goodison | Monday, June 15, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Business & Markets

This morning’s scheduled bankruptcy court hearing on the sale of the Filene’s Basement chain has been postponed until Wednesday at 5 p.m. as the auction of the off-price, Burlington-based chain continues.

A Delaware bankruptcy court judge last Wednesday ordered the reopening of the Basement auction after two losing bidders complained that the original June 5 auction - won by Men’s Wearhouse with a $67 million bid - did not follow court-ordered bidding procedures. Off-price retailer Syms Corp. and developer Vornado Realty Trust also had made a new all-cash offer for the Basement.

The auction resumed on Friday and picked up again this morning so bidding could continue. Men’s Wearhouse formed a new partnership with New York retail real estate firm Crown Acquisitions and had submitted the highest bid going into this morning’s proceedings with a $64.9 million offer.

Crown Acquisitions was the so-called stalking-horse bidder lined up by the Basement in the original auction, setting the $22 million baseline for bidding. Along with Syms, it was one of the losing bidders that had lodged a complaint in bankruptcy court about how the original auction was conducted.
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