Amazon is reportedly in talks to buy the retail chain J.C. Penney, which recently filed for bankruptcy amid the coronavirus pandemic.
- An Amazon team has headed to Texas to talk with J.C. Penney about buying the company, according to Women’s Wear Daily, a news source dedicated to retail industry news.
- “There is an Amazon team in Plano as we speak,” the Women’s Wear Daily report said. “There is a dialogue and I’m told it has a lot to do with Amazon eager to expand its apparel business.”
Some context:
- J.C. Penney filed for bankruptcy Friday with $500 million on hand. The company received $900 million in financing from lein lenders. That would include $450 million in new money, according to Yahoo! Finance.
- “This financing, combined with cash flow generated by the company’s ongoing operations, is expected to be sufficient to meet J.C. Penney’s operational and restructuring needs,” the company said, according to Yahoo! Finance. “As part of the commitment from its existing lenders, J.C. Penney will explore additional opportunities to maximize value, including a third-party sale process.”
Amazon looking to buy:
- Reports surfaced last week that Amazon has interest in buying AMC Entertainment’s movie theater chain, which I wrote about for the Deseret News.
- Though the possibility of that move remains precarious. Early reports from the Daily Mail suggested the two sides were in talks for a merger. But then it was reported Amazon and AMC are not in talks, according to Deadline,
- “We would be surprised if an acquisition down near all-time lows by Amazon in a transaction that would more than likely be for cash (and not stock) would appeal to AMC’s major shareholders,” said Eric Wold, an analyst with B. Riley FBR, according to Deadline,