Crafting retailer Joann expects to emerge from bankruptcy in the next few days, a little over one month after it first initiated a Chapter 11 restructuring plan on March 18, 2024. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware has approved the company’s reorganization and recapitalization plan, which includes commitments from its financial stakeholders and other parties for approximately $132 million in new financing.
The company said in a statement that, following the court-supervised process it will have the “lowest levels of debt in more than a decade.” Joann was delisted from the NASDAQ shortly after its bankruptcy filing and will now move forward as a private company, owned by some of the company’s financial stakeholders and other industry parties.
The company’s more than 800 stores as well as its website have remained open throughout the restructuring process and will continue to do so, preserving the jobs of more than 18,000 employees.
“We are pleased to have reached this significant milestone less than 40 days after initiating our court-supervised process,” said Chris DiTullio, Chief Customer Officer and co-lead of the Interim Office of the CEO at Joann in a statement. “Joann will move forward with a strengthened financial foundation, allowing us to invest in customer experience enhancements, our best-in-class product assortments and our more than 18,000 team members nationwide.”
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“We are grateful to our financial and industry stakeholders, whose support enabled us to continue operating smoothly and move through this process on an expedited basis,” added Scott Sekella, CFO and also a co-lead of the Interim Office of the CEO at Joann in the statement. “Their investment not only provides us with additional financial resources, but also reflects their confidence in our team members and in our business to seize on the opportunities ahead. With a strengthened balance sheet and improved liquidity, we are better positioned to work collaboratively with our vendors, business partners and landlords and ultimately to inspire the creativity in our customers that helps them find their happy place.”
