An Ontario court docket has given The Physique Store Canada the approval it must promote the vast majority of its enterprise to a non-public fairness agency.
Throughout a digital listening to on Friday, Justice Peter Osborne allowed the cosmetics retailer to proceed with a sale to an affiliate of Markham, Ont.-based Serruya Personal Fairness Inc.
“Fingers crossed and needs for achievement,” Osborne mentioned to Serruya earlier than concluding the temporary listening to.
The personal fairness agency is led by the co-founder of Yogen Fruz and has invested in automotive, actual property and fast-food companies together with St. Louis Bar and Grill, Second Cup and Swensen’s. It has not responded to requests for remark.
The Physique Store Canada can be a brand new type of foray for the agency, which attorneys instructed Osborne is “subtle” and well-positioned to tackle a beleaguered retailer.
The Physique Store Canada began purchasing itself round in July. It filed for creditor safety in March, when it closed 33 shops and blamed its guardian firm for stripping it of money and pushing it into debt.
Extra closures are on their manner.
Court docket paperwork present 59 properties owned by The Physique Store Canada can be bought by Serruya. These properties embrace shops on the West Edmonton Mall, Toronto Eaton Centre, the Pacific Centre in Vancouver and the Halifax Buying Centre.
The Physique Store is shutting down 33 shops in Canada and stopping on-line gross sales. Some specialists attribute the chain’s downfall to elevated competitors within the ethical-beauty house.
After The Physique Store Canada closed 33 shops earlier within the yr, 72 remained.
Legal professionals appearing on The Physique Store Canada’s behalf say these websites not acquired by Serruya will quickly start liquidation.
As a part of the acquisition, attorneys say about 600 staff, together with 100 seasonal staff, can be issued termination notices, however roughly 500 can be rehired by the brand new proprietor.
Along with getting approval for the sale, the court docket additionally agreed to not title the worth Serruya can pay for The Physique Store Canada’s belongings.
Natalie Renner, a lawyer representing the retailer, mentioned she considers the worth “commercially delicate.”
She argued if the worth was divulged and the deal does not shut as deliberate on Monday, it will hurt any subsequent gross sales course of the corporate must resort to.
Source link
