Amazon,
Sprint may buy some Radioshack stores: Bloomberg
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[February 03, 2015]
(Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc and
Sprint Corp are considering acquiring some RadioShack stores after the
troubled electronics retailer files for bankruptcy, Bloomberg reported,
citing people with knowledge of the discussions.
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Amazon has considered using the RadioShack stores as showcases for
the Seattle-based company's hardware as well as potential pickup and
drop-off centers for online customers, Bloomberg said. (http://bloom.bg/1D7QnUa)
Sprint and RadioShack have had talks about co-branding some of the
stores, Bloomberg reported, citing two anonymous sources. The rest
of the stores would close down, Bloomberg reported on Monday.
(http://bloom.bg/16aNrZw)
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), meanwhile, said its regulatory
arm was acting to delist RadioShack shares, and would suspend their
trading immediately. (http://bit.ly/1CrbPV5)
Another bidder could yet emerge to buy RadioShack and continue
operating the 94-year-old chain, Bloomberg said.
RadioShack declined to comment on the Bloomberg report and said it
had not confirmed any of the information. Sprint declined to
comment. Amazon could not immediately be reached for comment outside
regular U.S. business hours.
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The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that Standard General, a
hedge fund and the largest investor in RadioShack, was in talks to
serve as the lead bidder at a bankruptcy auction.
On Monday, the NYSE said it started the delisting process as
RadioShack did not intend to submit a business plan to address its
non-compliance with the exchange's listing standards.
RadioShack had received a warning from the NYSE last month — the
second time in a year — that it had 45 days to come up with a
business plan.
The exchange sends such a notification when companies listed on it
fail to maintain an average market capitalization of $50 million
over 30 consecutive days.
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RadioShack warned last September that it faced bankruptcy if talks
with lenders and stakeholders about a sale or a restructuring
failed.
The electronics retailer was once the operator of go-to shops for
innovators and engineers for products ranging from vacuum tube
speakers to the first mass-produced PC.
But the company has failed to transform itself into a destination
for mobile phone buyers, losing out to rivals such Amazon.com Inc
and Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
RadioShack said in October that it would seek to convert a loan of
$120 million, given by investors including Standard General and
Litespeed Management LLC, into equity "in the coming months".
RadioShack shares, which had touched a high of $79.50 in 1999 during
the dotcom boom, closed down 13.3 percent at $0.24 on Monday.
(Reporting by Ramkumar Iyer, Yashaswini Swamynathan and Supriya
Kurane in Bengaluru and Malathi Nayak in San Francisco; Editing by
Joyjeet Das and Gopakumar Warrier)
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