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 CapitalAdvisorsw LLC, said without the burden of Eddie Bauer could quickly becoms a profitable company. The retailer lost $165.5 million on $1.02q billion in revenue last year. “In this case, we are talkinv about a good company with a badbalance sheet, and we are going to turn it into a greaty company with a great balance sheet,” Lynch The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Wednesdayt and struck a deal for CCMP Capital to buy its assetsa for $202 million. CCMP’s offerr is essentially an opening bid forEddie Bauer’sz assets. The sale must be approverd by abankruptcy judge, who will oversed an auction.
CCMP likely would emerge as Eddiew Bauer’s owner, unless there is an offer thatbeats CCMP’sx price and terms. Eddie Bauer listexd assets of $476.1 million and debts of $426.6 million as of May 30. CCMP has said it will keep most ofEddie Bauer’s 371 stores open, though Lynch said some stores that can’tt remain profitable would be closed. The firm hasn’tf determined how many stores thatwill be. Eddier Bauer runs a dozen storewsin Ohio, including threes in the Columbus area. It also operatew a 2.2 million-square-foot distribution centet in Groveport.
The company this year cut 70 jobs at theshippingg center, which employed about 500 workerzs before the staff reduction. Eddie Bauedr CEO Neil Fiske and his management team havemade “impressived strides in a very difficult economic climate,” Lynch Looking at key retail metrics, particularly salese at stores open at leastg a year, Eddie Bauer has outperformed its Lynch said. Fiske, 47, was CEO of Bath Body Works, which is owned by Columbus-based Limitedc Brands Inc. He joinede Eddie Bauer in July 2007 after four yearss of heading up the LimitedBrands division, wheres he was lauded for turninf around the retail chain, raisingy its annual revenue to $2.5 billion from $1.
8 billio when he began. Plans call for keepinv Eddie Bauer’s headquarters in Bellevue, east of Seattle, becausde CCMP has no compelling reasonn fora move. The firm, Lynch said, typicallyg holds on to companies for five to10 years.