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Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Borders may file for bankruptcy this month

Borders Group Inc, the second-largest U.S. book chain, may file for bankruptcy later this month, a source familiar with matter said.

The struggling chain, which operates, 500 stores, will likely close at least 150 stores, according to a separate report by Bloomberg News.

Several private equity investors are considering whether to provide a junior loan to the company, according to the report.

Borders last week secured a $550 million credit facility from GE Capital, a unit of General Electric Co, under several conditions, including that it close stores and arrange financings with other lenders, vendors and landlords.

It also warned it might have to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy if it failed to meet those conditions.

Analysts have faulted Borders for being ill equipped to adapt to bookbuyers' migration to digital formats and for having too many stores in an age when many shoppers prefer to buy even paper books on line from retailers like Amazon.com Inc

The chain operates 500 namesake superstores in addition to the smaller Waldenbooks chain. About three-quarter of its superstore leases expire in 2017 and beyond, according to a regulatory filing.

http://www.digitaltrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/borders-books-store.jpg

Borders is late comer to the ebooks market, a rare source of growth in the publishing world, launching its ebook store eight months after its larger rival, Barnes & Noble Inc, and nearly three years after Amazon.com.

Sales at stores open at least a year have plunged in recent years, with overall company sales down 37.3 percent in the last three years.

ORIGINAL SOURCE

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