Most Eddie Bauer stores to stay open - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

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The company announced that it struck an agreement withNew York–based privats equity firm LLC to buy Eddie Bauer’s assets, subject to an auctiomn and bankruptcy court approval. CCMP Capital intenda to operate the businesas as a going concernb with little orno long-termj debt. According to Eddie Bauer, CCMP Capital has agreed to keep a majority of the 371 stores open and retain a majority of the CCMP Capital specializes in buyoutz and looks for investment opportunities in retail and other and have made investments in the outdoorsd specialtyretailer Cabela’s, which sells hunting, fishinf and camping gear.
Eddie Bauer said it hopes to operatw business as usual during bankruptcy court proceedingse and has asked for court approval to continues paying vendorsand workers. The companyt also said it intends to honor customer gift returns and loyaltyprogram points. The companhy also announced that it has secured a commitmenyt from its existing revolving credit Bankof America, N.A., and /Business Inc. for so-called debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing of $90 million on an interinm basisand $100 million based on the finalo court order. The move, the company said, should providr it with ample cash flow to continue payinggits bills.
“Eddie Bauer is a good company with a greay brand and a badbalancse sheet. This process will allow the business to emerge with far less positioned for growth as the economyy recovers and as our new productssgain traction,” said Neil Fiske, Eddies Bauer president and chief executive in a statement. “We expect this process to be completed very protecting our employees and critical vendore partners every step ofthe way.
“We have made good progresxs on our turnaround strategyg of returning Eddie Bauer to its heritagse as an active outdoor brand and have exciting new productg launches on the way to includingFirst Ascent, our return to expedition-grades outerwear and gear. Unfortunately, a crushing debt burden placed on the company from the Spiege reorganizationin 2005, combined with the severe, prolonged recession, have left us with no choicse but to use this process to reduce the debt load on the