Tagged: BORDERS

Borders Group Inc., the Ann Arbor-based bookstore chain, announced yesterday that it is closing after failing to find a buyer. Some stores will close as early as Friday. The liquidation of Borders is making headlines across the state and around the country:

• NPR.org: Mich. book chain Borders closing after 40 years
• The New York Times: Calling off auction, Borders to liquidate
• AnnArbor.com: 10,700 jobs lost, 400 in Ann Arbor
• Detroit Free Press: Borders to shut down for good after deal collapses
• Detroit News: Final chapter for Borders; 10,700 workers to lose jobs

Meanwhile, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder's office says the closing of Borders is more a reflection of publishing industry problems than a statement about Michigan's business climate, the Associated Press reports. From the AP:

His office says the fall of Borders marks the end of an important piece of Michigan history. Snyder is a former Ann Arbor businessman who was elected as a Republican in November.

Spokeswoman Geralyn Lasher says the Snyder administration will "want to look closely from the jobs perspective of people in the state."

Borders Books is officially going out of business.

The Ann Arbor bookstore chain issued a statement this afternoon saying the company Hilco and Gordon Brothers will "purchase the store assets and start the liquidation process." 

Borders Group President Mike Edwards:

It’s been a busy 24 hours for Ann Arbor-based Borders: The bankrupt bookstore chain has gone from having a potential buyer to talk of liquidation.

The auction to sell Borders is still scheduled for Tuesday, July 19th.  But the lead bidder, known as a "stalking horse," has pulled out. That bidder was Najafi, a private equity from Arizona a firm.

Borders has agreed to sell itself to private investment firm Najafi Cos. for $215 million, reports the Associated Press. The agreement, however, is tentative. From the AP:

Najafi, which owns the Book-of-the-Month Club, will also assume $220 million in debt.

The agreement is tentative and what is known as a "stalking horse" bid for a company under bankruptcy protection. The bid will open an auction for the bookseller and its assets, so a higher bid is possible.

A bankruptcy court hearing on the deal is set for July 21. If the court does not approve an auction process, Borders filed a separate motion to liquidate.

Najafi has been a speculative suitor for the Ann Arbor, Mich.-based company, although Borders has not previously confirmed any specific bidders.

Borders Group Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection in February.

Bankrupt Borders Group may have an interested buyer. The Ann Arbor-based bookstore chain plans to name a bidder by July first.

In a motion filed Friday at the United States Bankruptcy Court Southern District of New York, Borders says the sale process has "gained significant momentum in recent weeks," and that the bookseller is "encouraged" that a successful buyer will emerge.

When Borders filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last February, it had until mid-June to submit its own reorganization plan. Now a judge has given the company an extension.

Joseph Checkler of the Wall Street Journal says such requests are routine:

A judge on Thursday gave Borders Group Inc. more time to control its own bankruptcy case, after a lawyer for the bookseller said the company hopes to have a plan in place to sell most or all of the company's stores by the end of the month.

A lawyer for Borders didn't rule out that the company could eventually come up with a plan to reorganize but said a plan to sell stores to a third party is more imminent. The company says it is in talks with "multiple buyers" interested in "most up to all" of Borders's remaining stores.

Judge Martin Glenn of U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan approved the extension, a largely procedural move that gives Borders until October to file a reorganization plan and until December to solicit votes on that plan without having to worry about competing proposals from creditors or others.

The Journal reported that the private-equity firm Gores Group is interested in buying more than half the remaining 405 Borders Bookstores.

A lawyer for Borders said the company expects to announce a buyer in the next "two to four weeks."

Attorneys for Borders will be back in court this week  asking a judge to give the troubled Ann Arbor-based book store chain more time to exit bankruptcy protection.  When Borders filed for bankruptcy protection in February, the hope was the bookstore chain would be able to quickly turn itself around.   That apparently isn’t happening. 

The company handling the liquidation sales at more than 200 Borders bookstores says most of those stores will close by this weekend.  The liquidation sales have already been completed at many of the stores, including one in Ann Arbor. 

Rick Kaye is a spokesman for Hilco Merchant Services, the company handling the liquidation sales.  

Economic development leaders in Ann Arbor are hoping Borders Books will find a new home for its headquarters in city where the company started. 

Four decades ago, Borders started as bookstore in Ann Arbor.  With the big box bookstore chain now in bankruptcy protection, Borders executives are planning to move out of their Ann Arbor headquarters. 

But where?   As part of the company’s bankruptcy plan, Borders is looking for less expensive office space to rent. 

A report in the Wall Street Journal suggested Borders plans to move its headquarters from Ann Arbor. But company spokeswoman Mary Davis insists no final decision has been made.   

"We are looking at a number of options all around the greater metropolitan Detroit area including Ann Arbor. News reports are making it sound like the decision is final and we are moving out of Ann Arbor. That is not the case."   

The Wall Street Journal reported late last night that Borders will outline its future plans to a group of its creditors today. Part of those plans involves moving out of the company's Ann Arbor headquarters. The company has said the building no longer serves Borders needs. Borders issued a statement saying the company will look for a new facility in metro Detroit.  

Borders filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this year. Since then, Borders moved to close more than 200 bookstores, including four in Michigan. Borders hopes to exit bankruptcy protection later this year, possibly in late summer or early fall.  

Borders, once a leader in the nation's book selling industry, has struggled in recent years as book buyers have moved online.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Borders Group Inc. will move its headquarters from Ann Arbor to the Detroit metro area. The company is currently operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy. From the Journal:

Borders Group Inc. plans to tell publishers and landlords Wednesday it has achieved major cost savings, including more than $30 million in rent reductions, and that it will move out of its Ann Arbor, Mich., headquarters for cheaper office space in the greater Detroit metro area.

Presenting its business plan to an unsecured creditors committee, predominantly made up of publishers and landlords, Borders also plans to say it has now closed about 50 superstores as part of efforts to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy, according to people familiar with the matter. Altogether, Borders will close 226 by the end of next month, although a handful of additional stores could be closed, depending on negotiations with landlords, the people said.

News organizations around the state were quick to pick up the report:

• The Detroit Free Press: Report: Borders HQ to leave Ann Arbor
• The Detroit News: Report: Borders eyes HQ move to Metro Detroit
• The Ann Arbor Chronicle: A2  Business
• AnnArbor.com: Wall Street Journal: Borders plans to move headquarters out of Ann Arbor
  

A federal bankruptcy judge has decided to give Borders Group another 90 days to review leases for its bookstores.   The Ann Arbor-based bookstore change is working to emerge from bankruptcy later this year. Borders is already closing 200 bookstores across the country, including 4 stores in Michigan.   Borders is expected to announce plans to close additional stores and renegotiate leases on about 600 other outlets. 

Borders Books started in Ann Arbor as a small independent book store.

Tom and Louis Borders opened it in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1971.

The first Borders bookstore was located at 209 State Street, north of the State Theater.

Eve Silberman was a graduate student in Ann Arbor when she got a job at the very first Borders Bookstore owned by the Borders brothers.

The company recently declared bankruptcy.

Silberman sat down to talk with public radio host Dick Gordon of The Story.

Silberman talked with Gordon about her memories of working at the first Borders bookstore (she described herself as "not a very good worker").

She recalled several things about the first Borders Bookstore:

• Joe Gable was the "shaper and caretaker" of the store (many thought Gable was a Borders).
• Gable saw the store as a "cathedral of books" and the workers were the "worshippers."
• Classical music played in the store.
• Potential employees had to take a test to get a job at the store.
• The store carried unique titles.
• The store's cash register was complex at the time.

Host Dick Gordon asked Silberman about the sense in Ann Arbor about the misfortunes of Borders.