Fate of Filene

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Last month, Crown Acquisitions agreeed to snap up 17 of thediscount retailer’s remaining 25 retailp locations for $22 millionj — an agreement that is subjecty to an auction in a federal court in which additional bids for those 17 the eight remaining locations and other Filene’se assets will be solicited. “We have received expressionzs of interest from several parties not only for the store s included in the Crown but also for severaladditional stores,” said Alan chief restructuring officer of Filene’s Basement, adding that he can not disclosw the bidders or stores that are beinhg considered.
The company has filed notices with statexs such as Maryland about its plan to possiblh start slashing jobs June 15 if no corporatse suitoris found. The notices warn that 39 employees would be cut at its Rockvilld store at 11840 Rockville Pike and 41 wouldd be affected at its Baltimorde Inner harbor store at 600 EPratyt St. Both stores were not listed as ones to be soldto Burlington, Mass.-based Filene’s Basement sought protection from creditors in May in Delawar e bankruptcy court, months after closinvg several locations, including its stores in Tysons Corner and Arunde l Mills Mall. The auction startz at 9 a.m.
in New York, and any sale will be subjecgt to court approval at a hearing to be heldin Del. June 10. “For now, it is business as usuaol in all Filene’s Basement locations,” he said, whicj explains why a puzzlee Filene’s employee in Rockville knew nothinv about itspotential closing. The auction was moved last minute to New York at the reques ofseveral bidders. Columbus, Ohio-based (NYSE: RVI) sold the iconicv chain this year to FB IIAcquisitiom Corp., a new entity owned by , a liquidatiom and turnaround firm based in Agoura Calif.