KPS now the sole bidder for Furniture Brands International

WILMINGTON, Del. - An auction of Furniture Brands International assets originally scheduled for 10 a.m. 20th of Nov. has been canceled due to a lack of bids.

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware announced late Wednesday that no other qualified bids were received other than that of stalking horse bidder KPS Capital Partners.

KPS emerged as the stalking horse bidder in late September with a proposed bid of $280 million. The lack of other qualified bids means that pending court approval, KPS will be the purchaser of Furniture Brands' assets.

Another potential bidder, Samson Holding, which owns 9.5% of Furniture Brands stock, originally said it planned to bid on the company. However, it announced this morning it was not going to bid on Furniture Brands, which is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The next step in the process is for the bankruptcy court judge to approve the sale. This hearing is set for 2 p.m. Friday Nov. 22.

However, before that approval, the judge will likely hear a series of objections were filed prior to a Nov. 18 deadline. Among these is an objection from minority Furniture Brands stockholder Broadbill Investment Partners, which was opposed to the acceleration of the bid deadline from Dec. 5 to Nov. 20.

The acceleration of the bid process was a reason that Samson Holding said it was unable to perform due diligence needed to submit a qualified bid, a Samson official said.

Source From: Casual Living