Department store chain Belk Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday, commencing an ultra-quick timetable intended to lift the Sycamore Partners-owned company out of chapter 11 within around 24 hours.
Belk is scheduled to appear on Wednesday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston to seek confirmation of a restructuring strategy that creditors have already voted unanimously to support.
The chapter 11 proposal, announced last month, would trim $450 million in debt from the company’s balance sheet and provide a $225 million capital infusion, supplied by Belk lenders and its private-equity owner Sycamore.
The planned restructuring will keep Belk majority owned by Sycamore, a retail specialist that has controlled the company since 2015.
With nearly 300 stores, mostly in the Southeast, Belk generated $3.8 billion in revenue in the 12 months ended November, according to Moody’s Investors Service . As of last month, the company was carrying $1.9 billion in debt.
