Eddie Bauer Holdings May Seek Bankruptcy Protection (Update1)

By Lauren Coleman-Lochner and Jonathan Keehner

June 9 (Bloomberg) -- Eddie Bauer Holdings Inc., the U.S. outdoor-clothing chain, may seek bankruptcy protection as soon as this week, according to five people with knowledge of the discussions. The shares lost half their value.

Hilco Consumer Capital LLC has expressed interest in bidding on the company’s assets, said the people, who declined to be identified because the talks aren’t public. CCMP Capital Advisors LLC, a private-equity firm based in New York, may also make an offer for the retailer, which is being advised by Peter J. Solomon Co., the people said.

Eddie Bauer fell 24 cents to 24 cents at 3:59 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The shares have lost 54 percent this year.

Eddie Bauer, which opened its first sporting goods store in Seattle in 1920, has reported annual losses for the past three years. The Bellevue, Washington-based company operates about 370 stores in the U.S. and Canada. No final decision has been made about a bankruptcy filing, according to people familiar.

Eddie Bauer had $187.9 million in long-term borrowings and $2.62 million in cash in the quarter that ended April 4, according to a company filing. The company reported a loss of $44.5 million in the first quarter on sales of about $180 million.

Gordon Brothers Group has also held talks with Eddie Bauer, people familiar with the matter said last month. In the past year, Hilco Consumer Capital, which is based in Toronto, and Boston’s Gordon Brothers have purchased defunct retailers such as Sharper Image Corp. and Linens ‘n Things Inc.

Sale Falls Through

Sarah Redgrave, a spokeswoman for Eddie Bauer, declined to comment, citing company policy. Representatives of Hilco, CCMP and Peter J. Solomon also wouldn’t comment.

Eddie Bauer emerged as an independent company in 2005, two years after parent Spiegel Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection. General Mills Inc. owned the company from 1971 until 1988. Shareholders rejected the clothing maker’s efforts to sell the company in 2007, thwarting its planned $285 million sale to two buyout firms.

To contact the reporters on this story: Lauren Coleman-Lochner in New York at llochner@bloomberg.net; Jonathan Keehner in New York jkeehner@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: June 9, 2009 16:19 EDT

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