A “Store Closing” banner on a Bed Bath & Beyond store in Farmingdale, New York, on Friday, Jan. 6, 2023.Johnny Milano | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesBed Bath & Beyond on Sunday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after it failed in several last-ditch efforts to raise enough money to keep the company alive.The beleaguered home goods retailer has been warning of a potential bankruptcy since early January, when it issued a “going concern” notice that it may not have the cash to cover expenses after a dismal holiday season. Shares of the company closed at 29 cents Friday, giving it a market value of $136.9 million. The stock is down about 88% this year. Last April, it was trading around $20 a share.The company’s 360 namesake stores and 120 Buybuy Baby locations will remain open for the time being as it begins to close the business and liquidate assets. But it has filed motions in New Jersey bankruptcy court asking permission to auction the two brands, the company said in a release. It has already committed to closing all of its Harmon FaceValue stores.As of late November, Bed Bath had about $4.4 billion in assets and $5.2 billion in debts, court filings show. Alongside a long list of creditors, including vendors like Pinterest, Keurig and Blue Yonder, it owes the most to BNY Mellon at $1.18 billion, the documents show. It has between 25,001 and 50,000 total creditors and employs about 14,000 non-seasonal workers, court filings say.”Millions of customers have trusted us through the most important milestones in their lives – from going to college to getting married, settling into a new home to having a baby. Our teams have worked with incredible purpose t …
