UNION, N.J., Aug. 3, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Bed Bath &
Beyond Inc. (Nasdaq: BBBY) today announced the completion of
the sale of PersonalizationMall.com (PMall) to 1-800-FLOWERS.COM,
Inc. for $245 million, subject to
certain customary post-closing adjustments. PMall will continue to
provide product and personalization services to the Company's Bed
Bath & Beyond and buybuy BABY retail concepts.
Mark Tritton, President &
CEO, said, "The completion of this transaction is an important
milestone in our plan to simplify our portfolio and rebuild
authority in our core market. Since announcing our intention
to divest PMall back in February
2020, we have made significant progress in our efforts to
optimize growth within Home, Baby, Beauty and Wellness, assembling
a world class leadership team, restructuring our operations and
introducing new services like Buy-Online-Pickup-In-Store and
contactless Curbside Pickup."
The cash proceeds from this transaction further strengthen the
Company's liquidity and financial flexibility as it continues to
build a balanced, durable financial model. With respect to
capital allocation strategies, in March
2020 the Company postponed its plans for share repurchase
and suspended dividends and planned debt reductions in light of the
COVID-19 pandemic. Bed Bath & Beyond is committed to a
balanced capital return program over the mid-to-long term and will
re-evaluate when appropriate.
The Company continues to review its non-core assets for
opportunities to further simplify its portfolio.
In connection with the previously executed settlement agreement,
the parties' counsel have executed a Stipulation and Proposed Order
of Dismissal, which is expected to be filed one business day after
closing and will result in the voluntary dismissal with prejudice
of the litigation relating to the transaction.
Advisors to Bed Bath & Beyond on this transaction
include Goldman Sachs & Co LLC and Proskauer
Rose LLP.
About Bed Bath & Beyond Inc.
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. and subsidiaries (the "Company") is
an omnichannel retailer that makes it easy for our customers to
feel at home. The Company sells a wide assortment of domestic
merchandise and home furnishings. The Company also provides a
variety of textile products, amenities and other goods to
institutional customers in the hospitality, cruise line, healthcare
and other industries. Additionally, the Company is a partner
in a joint venture which operates retail stores in Mexico under the name Bed Bath &
Beyond.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements,
including, but not limited to, the Company's progress and
anticipated progress towards its long-term objectives, plans with
respect to potential asset sales, as well as more generally the
status of its future liquidity and financial condition. Many
of these forward-looking statements can be identified by use of
words such as may, will, expect, anticipate, approximate, estimate,
assume, continue, model, project, plan, goal, and similar words and
phrases, although the absence of those words does not necessarily
mean that statements are not forward-looking. The Company's actual
results and future financial condition may differ materially from
those expressed in any such forward-looking statements as a result
of many factors. Such factors include, without limitation: general
economic conditions including the housing market, a challenging
overall macroeconomic environment and related changes in the
retailing environment; risks associated with COVID-19 and the
governmental responses to it, including its impacts across the
Company's businesses on demand and operations, as well as on the
operations of the Company's suppliers and other business partners,
and the effectiveness of the Company's actions taken in response to
these risks; consumer preferences, spending habits and adoption of
new technologies; demographics and other macroeconomic factors that
may impact the level of spending for the types of merchandise sold
by the Company; civil disturbances and terrorist acts; unusual
weather patterns and natural disasters; competition from existing
and potential competitors across all channels; pricing pressures;
liquidity; the ability to achieve anticipated cost savings, and to
not exceed anticipated costs, associated with organizational
changes and investments, including the Company's strategic
restructuring program; the ability to attract and retain qualified
employees in all areas of the organization; the cost of labor,
merchandise and other costs and expenses; potential supply chain
disruption due to trade restrictions, and other factors such as
natural disasters, such as pandemics, including the COVID-19
pandemic, political instability, labor disturbances, product
recalls, financial or operational instability of suppliers or
carriers, and other items; the ability to find suitable locations
at acceptable occupancy costs and other terms to support the
Company's plans for new stores; the ability to establish and
profitably maintain the appropriate mix of digital and physical
presence in the markets it serves; the ability to assess and
implement technologies in support of the Company's development of
its omnichannel capabilities; the ability to effectively and timely
adjust the Company's plans in the face of the rapidly changing
retail and economic environment, including in response to the
COVID-19 pandemic; uncertainty in financial markets; volatility in
the price of the Company's common stock and its effect, and the
effect of other factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic, on the
Company's capital allocation strategy; risks associated with the
ability to achieve a successful outcome for its business concepts
and to otherwise achieve its business strategies; the impact of
intangible asset and other impairments; disruptions to the
Company's information technology systems including but not limited
to security breaches of systems protecting consumer and employee
information or other types of cybercrimes or cybersecurity attacks;
reputational risk arising from challenges to the Company's or a
third party product or service supplier's compliance with various
laws, regulations or standards, including those related to labor,
health, safety, privacy or the environment; reputational risk
arising from third-party merchandise or service vendor performance
in direct home delivery or assembly of product for customers;
changes to statutory, regulatory and legal requirements, including
without limitation proposed changes affecting international trade;
changes to, or new, tax laws or interpretation of existing tax
laws; new, or developments in existing, litigation, claims or
assessments; changes to, or new, accounting standards; and foreign
currency exchange rate fluctuations. The Company does not undertake
any obligation to update its forward-looking statements.
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SOURCE Bed Bath & Beyond Inc.