PacSun Post-Bankruptcy Reorg

PacSun can exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy, according to Bloomberg.

But the embattled teen retailer will leave bankruptcy proceedings in a far different state, according to the report. PacSun, a California-based retailer, will now be owned by private equity firm Golden Gate Capital, which plans to reduce PacSun’s current outstanding debt from $88 million to $30 million and invest about $20 million more into the company.

Although not as prominent a retailer name as Sports Authority or Aéropostale, PacSun also made news by filing for bankruptcy in April of this year but appears to have fared better in that process than this year’s other two big-name bankrupt retailers.

At the time of its bankruptcy, PacSun operated 590 retail locations but closed about 20 of them as part of the bankruptcy reorganization, according to Bloomberg.

Sports Authority will close all its stores and liquidate all its inventory, while Aéropostale was only recently rescued at the last minute from a similar fate, continuing on in a much reduced state.

Poonam Goyal, a retail analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, called the bankrupt retailer’s comeback “every distressed retailer’s dream.”

“PacSun has successfully transitioned beyond its historical base of action sports brands to what we believe is the most relevant and coveted mix of brands celebrating the California lifestyle,” Josh Olshansky, Golden Gate Capital’s managing director, said in a statement in April. “We believe in the future of the company, as reflected by our significant injection of new capital into the business.”