In Pandemic Era, Private Equity-Owned Retail Is As Vulnerable As Ever
Combine two leveraged buyouts with $5 billion in debt. Add a pandemic. Stir. If anyone, for whatever reason, were in need of a recipe for retail bankruptcy, the above is as good as any. It was enough to send Neiman Marcus into court to seek relief. Two private equity buyouts, funded by billions in debt, led to years of distress and ultimately bankruptcy this year. J. Crew, acquired by Leonard Green and partners for $3 billion in 2011, is another that hovered at the brink for years, cutting deals with lenders to buy time until, finally, the pandemic derailed its latest plan to ease its balance sheet. So far at least, 2020 is not the year of mass bankruptcies among private equity retailers, but many are struggling and many others already collapsed in years past. Read more at Retail Dive.
