BlackRock Kelso Capital Acquires The Bargain! Shop

Canadian discount store chain The Bargain! Shop Holdings Inc. and its affiliates have been bought for an undisclosed amount by Red Apple Stores Inc., a subsidiary of U.S. mid-market private equity firm BlackRock Kelso Capital. The sale completes a process begun last month, when The Bargain! Shop accepted BlackRock Kelso’s going concern offer. The Mississauga, Ontario-based company filed for protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act to restructure its operations in February 2013.

PRESS RELEASE:

TBS Acquireco Inc., The Bargain! Shop Holdings Inc. and TBS Stores Inc. (collectively, “The Bargain! Shop”) announces the completion of the previously announced sale of its assets and business to Red Apple Stores Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of BlackRock Kelso Capital Corporation (“BlackRock Kelso”). The consummation of the transaction will result in the sale of The Bargain! Shop’s business on a going-concern basis and the preservation of approximately 1800 jobs, continued supplier and landlord relationships and continued business activity across Canada.

The Bargain! Shop previously announced the selection of the going concern offer from BlackRock Kelso on June 13, 2013, following completion of a sale and investor solicitation process conducted by Ernst & Young Inc. in its capacity as Court appointed monitor of The Bargain ! Shop (the “ Monitor”).

Source: The Bargain! Shop

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