(Bloomberg) -- Big Lots Inc. delayed a key court hearing on whether private equity firm Nexus Capital Management should be named the lead bidder at a potential bankruptcy auction after saying earlier this week that the firm still needed to cut a deal with company lenders on roughly $750 million in financing.
Big Lots was scheduled to appear Thursday in Delaware bankruptcy court to continue discussing potential financial protections for Nexus’ offer. The request for protections was postponed earlier this week to give Nexus more time to complete financing for its bid, which lawyers said at the time should be done ahead of Thursday’s hearing.
The company postponed the hearing to Friday, which is the same date as a court approved deadline for submitting rival takeover offers for the discount chain. Nexus’ offer is in the form of a so-called stalking horse bid, meaning it would set the floor price for Big Lots’ business and is subject to better offers.
Representatives for Big Lots and Nexus didn’t return messages Thursday seeking comment.
Big Lots announced the Nexus deal when it filed Chapter 11 on Sept. 9 and, if the transaction is approved by the bankruptcy court, has said it expects the deal to close in the fourth quarter of this year. Nexus Managing Director Evan Glucoft said in a statement when the transaction was announced that his firm intended to help return Big Lots “to its status as America’s leading extreme value retailer.”
The transaction would payoff a substantial portion of Big Lots’ debt and preserve thousands of jobs, according to court documents.
The case is Big Lots Inc., number 24-11967, in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.
--With assistance from Steven Church.
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