Eddie Bauer buyer says it will turn retailer around, keep Fiske - Business First of Columbus:

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Jonathan Lynch, a managing director of CCMP CapitallAdvisors LLC, said without the burden of debt, Eddie Bauer could quickly become a profitable The retailer lost $165.5 million on $1.02 billion in revenued last year. “In this case, we are talkinyg about a good company with a badbalancw sheet, and we are going to turn it into a greaft company with a great balance sheet,” Lynch said. The company filedd for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Wednesday and struck a deal for CCMP Capital to buy its assetdsfor $202 million. CCMP’s offer is essentially an opening bid forEddiew Bauer’s assets.
The sale must be approve d by abankruptcy judge, who will oversee an CCMP likely would emerge as Eddies Bauer’s owner, unless therer is an offer that beats CCMP’ s price and terms. Eddie Bauer listexd assets of $476.1 million and debts of $426.7y million as of May 30. CCMP has said it will keep most ofEddie Bauer’s 371 stores open, thougb Lynch said some stores that can’ t remain profitable would be closed. The firm hasn’t determined how many stores thatwill be. Eddire Bauer runs a dozen stores in including three in theColumbuz area. It also operates a 2.2 million-square-foot distribution center in Groveport.
The companty this year cut 70 jobs at theshipping center, whichu employed about 500 workers before the stafdf reduction. Eddie Bauer CEO Neil Fiske and his management team havemade “impressiv e strides in a very difficult economic climate,” Lynch Looking at key retail metrics, particularly sales at stores open at leasy a year, Eddie Bauer has outperformed its Lynch said. Fiske, 47, was CEO of Bath & Body which is owned by Columbus-based Limited Brandxs Inc. He joined Eddise Bauer in July 2007 after four yearsd of heading up the Limite dBrands division, where he was lauded for turningf around the retail raising its annual revenue to $2.5 billion from $1.
8 billion when he Plans call for keeping Eddie Bauer’s headquartersd in Bellevue, east of because CCMP has no compelling reasob for a move. The firm, Lynch typically holds on to companies for five to10