Chalk up another victim of Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN), private equity buy-out Toys “R” Us Limited, the toys retailer, has filed for bankruptcy.
Not all of the blame can be laid at Amazon’s door, however, as the company had also over-extended itself, so that its debt repayments had become crippling.
The Toys 'R' Us bankruptcy will be blamed on Amazon. But check the huge amount of cash drained out since it was bought by private equity
— (((Andy Payneu))) (@PercyBlakeney63) September 19, 2017
The company has filed for protection from its creditors under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the US while it carries out a financial restructuring.
The Canadian subsidiary has also filed for protection; the Company’s operations outside of the US and Canada, including roughly 255 licensed stores and its joint venture partnership in Asia, are not part of the bankruptcy filings.
JUST IN: Toys "R" Us has filed for bankruptcyhttps://t.co/9LtzpUNeUF pic.twitter.com/b6tMeWCxVR
— Bloomberg (@business) September 19, 2017
“We are confident that this financial restructuring is the best path forward to ensure that Toys“R”Us can invest in our business, continue to improve our customers’ experience and strengthen our competitive position,” Toys R Us said.
The company stressed that its stores and web site remain open for business.
Toys'R'Us says UK subsidiary not affected by US parent group filing for bankruptcy: ``business as usual'' for the 110 stores across the UK.
— BauerBreakingNews (@bauer_news) September 19, 2017
The company is set to celebrate its 70th anniversary next year – if it survives that long.