Hudson’s Bay seeks court agreement that offers little time to save six stores

TORONTO — Hudson’s Bay asked an Ontario tribunal Wednesday to o.k. a restructuring statement that volition springiness it a abbreviated timeline to prevention the six stores it has truthful acold spared from liquidation.

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A caller mentation of the statement volition unit the retailer to commencement liquidating those stores connected April 8, if it hasn’t recovered a apt transaction that volition repay immoderate of what it owes its elder secured lenders Bank of America, Pathlight Capital and Restore Capital by April 7 — 3 days aft the deadline it primitively asked for.

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Ashley Taylor, a lawyer for Hudson’s Bay, told Ontario Superior Court justice Peter Osborne the statement wasn’t “a precise satisfying outcome.”

It wasn’t precisely what the section store wanted either, helium reasoned, but was the champion statement it could find.

“The institution wanted much stores. The institution wanted much time. The institution wanted much latitude,” Taylor said.

Hudson’s Bay’s petition for support connected the restructuring statement comes arsenic the bulk of its 80 stores, 13 Saks Off Fifth locations and 3 Saks Fifth Avenue shops entered liquidation income this week.

Last week, beardown income allowed the institution to temporarily prevention its Toronto flagship determination connected Yonge Street, a store successful the city’s Yorkdale promenade and different astatine Hillcrest Mall successful Richmond Hill, Ont. The remaining 3 survivors are located successful the downtown Montreal area, Carrefour Laval promenade and Pointe-Claire, Que.

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The liquidation happening astatine the remainder of Hudson’s Bay’s stores is portion of a creditor extortion lawsuit the institution began successful aboriginal March, erstwhile it said it was facing fiscal difficulties that were truthful important they threatened the company’s quality to proceed operating.

Some parties progressive successful the tribunal proceedings are opposing Hudson’s Bay petition to o.k. the restructuring enactment agreement.

One of those parties is RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust, which has a associated task with Hudson’s Bay that sees them ain oregon co-own 12 properties together.

A question it has filed argues the projected restructuring agreement’s aboriginal April deadline is astatine likelihood with different process the tribunal approved Friday to facilitate a hunt for imaginable investors oregon buyers for portions of the business.

That exercise, known arsenic the merchantability and concern solicitation process, asks imaginable buyers funny successful owning immoderate of the institution to spot bids by April 30, a question filed by RioCan lawyers Robert Chadwick, Joseph Pasquariello and Andrew Harmes says.

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Because the timelines conflict, RioCan’s lawyers accidental support of the restructuring statement would “limit immoderate accidental HBC has” of uncovering a mode forward.

“HBC and its stakeholders merit the payment of the accidental to research each tenable opportunities to find a restructuring solution that maximizes worth compared to a forced liquidation,” the RioCan lawyers say.

Lawyers for Pathlight Capital disagreed with the landlord.

They said successful a written submission that “giving effect to the landlords’ objections would service to efficaciously similar unsecured landlords’ interests to those of the interests of the company’s secured creditors.”

Secured lenders similar Pathlight person collateral that backs oregon “secures” the loan, which allows them to instrumentality Hudson’s Bay assets to screen unpaid debt. Unsecured lenders bash not person this information net.

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Linc Rogers, a lawyer for Restore Capital, besides took contented with the landlord’s stance.

He pointed retired each 1 of Hudson’s Bay landlords was offered a accidental to springiness the institution rent concessions oregon supply financing to assistance the institution debar its existent situation, but each of them declined to help.

“We recovered a mode guardant to debar chaos,” helium said successful court, arguing the restructuring statement should determination forward.

Rogers’ oral submission was interrupted erstwhile respective of the much than 200 users viewing the tribunal proceedings implicit Zoom broadcast sexually explicit videos. The justice rapidly ordered the watercourse unopen down.

When the proceeding reconvened aft a interruption to find a mode to watercourse proceedings portion minimizing the accidental of different disturbance, Osborne apologized to those successful attendance for being subjected to the “unfortunate disruption.”

This study by The Canadian Press was archetypal published March 26, 2025.

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