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Joele Frank handles Big Lots as the nation’s largest closeout retailer declares Chapter 11 today and announces that it has agreed to be acquired by a unit of Nexus Capital Management.
The Columbus, OH-based retailer lost $205M during its fiscal Q1 quarter on $1B in revenues, which were down 10 percent.
It blamed the poor results on high inflation and interest rates, and a drop in discretionary spending by its core customer base on home and seasonal goods.
CEO Bruce Thorn said the corporate restructuring “enables us to move forward with new owners who believe in our business and provide financial stability, while we optimize our operational footprint.”
Nexus will serve as the “stalking horse bidder,” and will complete the acquisition by the end of the year, in the event that another higher bidder does not emerge.
Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher’s Aaron Palash and Richard Goldman represent Big Lots.
WPP shares have been dropped from the London Stock Exchange’s prestigious FTSE 100 index as its stock market price has plunged by two-thirds this year.
Public Policy Holding Company registered 23.8 percent Q3 growth to $48.8M, with organic growth contributing 4.5 percent and the balance driven by merger & acquisition activity.
Publicis Groupe reported 3.1 percent in Q3 growth to $4B, sparked by a 3.6 percent jump North America, its biggest market.
WPP suffered a 10.2 percent drop in 1H revenues to $6.7B and a 47.8 percent plunge in operating profit to $297M.
Interpublic reported Q2 net revenues dropped 6.6 percent to $2.2B and operating income tumbled 23.4 percent to $243.7M. 
