Bombay receives buyout offers
Staff -- Home Accents Today, 6/1/2007
The Bombay Company said its financial adviser, William Blair & Co., had received several non-binding offers to purchase the troubled retailer.
Bombay officials stressed that the offers were non-binding and were subject to "substantial due diligence." There is no assurance that any of the offers will ultimately lead to a sale, officials said.
The company was reluctant to discuss specifics of the offers, but said they were above Thursday's closing stock price of 62 cents per share.
The shares leaped nearly 60% after the announcement to close at 99 cents per share on very heavy trading volume.
Separately, Bombay said it has obtained a new $10 million secured term loan to help fund working capital requirements and other corporate needs. The loan was arranged by GE Capital Markets, whose sister company, GE Commercial Finance, holds Bombay's $125 million revolving credit line.
Prior to that news, the company had reported that its stock could be de-listed by the New York Stock Exchange because the share price and market capitalization have fallen below the exchange's minimums.
Bombay had seen its stock price fall below $1 per share for 30 consecutive trading days. In addition, market capitalization has fallen below the required NYSE minimum of $75 million.
The retailer said it would submit a plan to regain compliance with NYSE listing requirements. However, the company said it may have to make arrangements to have its stock traded on the over-the-counter bulletin board or similar quotation system.
