Toys ‘R’ Us Is Said to Hire Advisers to Help Weigh Bankruptcy

Toys ‘R’ Us Is Said to Hire Advisers to Help Weigh Bankruptcy
Toys “R” Us has hired restructuring advisers from the prominent law firm Kirkland & Ellis as it tries to cope
with hundreds of millions of dollars of debt coming due, according to two people briefed on the matter.
Toys “R” Us closed its flagship store in Times Square in 2015 to save money on rent,
but in August, it opened a smaller, seasonal store a few blocks away to take advantage of holiday shoppers in New York.
“Toys ‘R’ Us is evaluating a range of alternatives to address our 2018 debt maturities, which may include the
possibility of obtaining additional financing,” a company spokeswoman said in a statement on Wednesday.
Toys “R” Us must find a way to pay back about $400 million in debt as it tries to increase sales in the upcoming holiday season.
The company was bought by the private equity firms Kohlberg Kravis Roberts
and Bain Capital, as well as the real estate firm Vornado Realty Trust, for about $6 billion in 2005.
For years, the company dominated toy sales, and its Babies “R” Us chain was a leader in baby products like diapers and strollers.