RICHMOND, Va.–Circuit City, in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, has filed a motion with the bankruptcy court here to put the company up for sale.
In a statement issued this morning, the consumer-electronics retailer said the motion seeks the courts approval for a sale of the business as a going concern, as separate business units or as individual assets. Circuit City is talking to what it described as “two highly motivated and interested parties,” which it did not identify, regarding the ongoing-business possibility. These parties are considering the providing of additional financing to allow the retailer to sustain its operations and move forward with a restructuring, and/or purchasing the company and all of its assets, the statement said.
The court has scheduled a hearing on Circuit City’s motion today. The motion currently calls for an auction of the company and its assets that would begin on Jan. 13, and for a sale hearing in the court that would take place on Jan. 16. The discussions with the interested parties could result in a sale agreement or an amendment to Circuit City’s debtor-in-possession credit agreement, which was approved by the court on Dec. 23.
If Circuit City can’t reach an agreement with the interested parties on the going-concern transaction and the auction doesn’t result in the sale of the retailer’s assets, the motion provides that the company could enter an asset-liquidation process that would begin soon after the Jan. 16 sale hearing.