The top lenders of Toys 'R' Us have decided to cancel the bankruptcy auction of its brand name and other intellectual property assets and instead plan to revive the Toys 'R' Us and Babies 'R' Us brand names, a court filing on Monday showed.

The bankrupt retailer's debtors aim to open a new Toys 'R' Us and Babies 'R' Us branding company that maintains existing global license agreements and can invest and develop new retail shops.

The lenders also plan to expand its international presence and further develop its private brands business.

The bids were not superior to the plan to revive the brand as it did not offer "probable economic recovery" to creditors as well as benefits to stakeholders who would maintain the brands under the new independent U.S. business, the court filing showed.

Toys "R" Us filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September last year, hoping to restructure some $5 billion in debt, much of which stemmed from a $6.6 billion leveraged buyout by private equity firms in 2005.

But the company changed course in March, saying it would sell its operations in Canada, Asia and Europe, and shut down in the United States.

Under the intellectual property auction, the company had planned to sell its assets, including the brand names of Toys 'R' Us, Babies 'R' Us, registry lists, website domains, Geoffrey the Giraffe and other assets.</s>The top lenders of Toys 'R' Us have decided to cancel the bankruptcy auction of its brand name and other intellectual property assets.

Lenders will instead plan to revive the Toys 'R' Us and Babies 'R' Us brand names, a court filing on Monday showed.

The bankrupt retailer's debtors aim to open a new Toys 'R' Us and Babies 'R' Us branding company that maintains existing global license agreements and can invest and develop new retail shops.

The lenders also plan to expand its international presence and further develop its private brands business.

The Toys 'R' Us store in Times Square on Thursday, March 12, 2009. The lenders of Toys 'R' Us are reported to have cancelled the auction for the intellectual property assets of the retailer and are planning to revive both Toys 'R' Us and Babies 'R' Us

The bids were not superior to the plan to revive the brand as it did not offer 'probable economic recovery' to creditors as well as benefits to stakeholders who would maintain the brands under the new independent U.S. business, the court filing showed.

Toys 'R' Us filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September last year.

The company hoped to restructure some $5billion in debt, much of which stemmed from a $6.6billion leveraged buyout by private equity firms in 2005.

But it changed course in March, saying it would sell its operations in Canada, Asia and Europe, and shut down in the United States.

Under the intellectual property auction, the company had planned to sell its assets.

This includes the brand names of Toys 'R' Us, Babies 'R' Us, registry lists, website domains, Geoffrey the Giraffe and other assets.</s>The top lenders of Toys ‘R’ Us have decided to cancel the bankruptcy auction of its brand name and other intellectual property assets and instead plan to revive the Toys ‘R’ Us and Babies ‘R’ Us brand names, a court filing on Monday showed.

The bankrupt retailer’s debtors aim to open a new Toys ‘R’ Us and Babies ‘R’ Us branding company that maintains existing global license agreements and can invest and develop new retail shops.
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The lenders also plan to expand its international presence and further develop its private brands business. The bids were not superior to the plan to revive the brand as it did not offer “probable economic recovery” to creditors as well as benefits to stakeholders who would maintain the brands under the new independent U.S. business, the court filing showed.

Toys “R” Us filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September last year, hoping to restructure some US$5 billion in debt, much of which stemmed from a US$6.6 billion leveraged buyout by private equity firms in 2005. But the company changed course in March, saying it would sell its operations in Canada, Asia and Europe, and shut down in the United States.

Under the intellectual property auction, the company had planned to sell its assets, including the brand names of Toys ‘R’ Us, Babies ‘R’ Us, registry lists, website domains, Geoffrey the Giraffe and other assets.</s>Oct 2 (Reuters) - Toys ‘R’ Us has canceled the bankruptcy auction of its brand name and other intellectual property assets and instead plans to revive the Toys ‘R’ Us and Babies ‘R’ Us brand names, the court papers filed by the company’s lenders on Monday showed.

The bankrupt retailer, which is controlled by lenders, said it is planning to open a new Toys ‘R’ Us and Babies ‘R’ Us branding company that maintains its existing global license agreements and can invest and develop new retail shops under the two brand names.</s>WAYNE, N.J.— Could Toys ‘R’ Us be making a comeback?

This may be the case after court filings show that top lenders for Geoffrey, LLC decided to cancel the bankruptcy auction of its brand name and other intellectual properties.

Less than four months after the beloved toy company closed its last U.S. stores, lenders have announced a plan to revive the Toys ‘R’ Us and Babies ‘R’ Us brand, the court filing revealed on Monday.

Goodbye, Geoffrey: Toys R Us closing its last stores

This announcement comes after a five-month marketing effort by an overseeing bank drew overwhelming support and proposals to buy the company.

The company’s transition to its new owners is now pending approval of the United States Bankruptcy Court, a spokesperson for Toys ‘R’ Us said.

According to a release, the reorganized company will own rights to Toys ‘R’ Us and Babies ‘R’ Us brand in all global markets except Canada.

The new owners announced that they are working with partners to create ideas for the new stores in the country and abroad that could bring back these iconic brands in a re-imagined way.</s>Toys “R” Us Inc. has canceled the much-anticipated bankruptcy auction for its brand name and other intellectual property assets.

Instead, Toys “R” Us’s controlling lenders—the hedge funds that pulled the plug on the retailer’s reorganization earlier this year—intend to revive business behind the Toys “R” Us and Babies “R” Us brand names.

The retailer said in court papers filed Monday that while it received qualified bids for the assets—which includes the brand names of Toys “R” Us, Babies “R” Us, registry lists, website domains, Geoffrey the Giraffe, and other assets—it has opted to forgo the auction.

Toys “R” Us’s proposed reorganization plan contemplates “a new, operating Toys ‘R’ Us and Babies ‘R’ Us branding company that maintains existing global license agreements and can invest in and create new, domestic, retail operating businesses” under the brand name, court papers said.

The company’s controlling lenders have determined the qualified bids wouldn’t likely “yield a superior alternative to the plan,” because of factors including the recovery to creditors, as well as the benefits to other direct and indirect stakeholders maintaining the brands “under a newly-established, independent U.S. business.”

The pivot comes after the company consulted with its controlling parties—a group of lenders that includes Solus Alternative Asset Management and other hedge funds—that were behind the retailer’s decision to close its doors. The intellectual property is considered “a valuable piece” of the lenders’ collateral,” according to court papers.

Solus has denied playing any role in the liquidation of the retailer.

A company spokesman declined to comment, and a Solus spokesman didn’t immediately respond to comment.

Control of the retailer’s intellectual property has pitted the lender group, including Solus, against Toys’s foreign-subsidiary bondholders. Toys’s intellectual property also plays a role in the sale of Toys “R” Us’s Asian business, as any acquirer of the business would have to negotiate the use and cost of the intellectual property, or be subject to legal action. A group of bondholders has placed an opening bid on the Asian business.

The absence of Toys “R” Us has also left an $11 billion hole in the toy industry, and hundreds of toy vendors without a major bricks-and-mortar platform to sell their goods.

The decision to shut 800 U.S. Toys “R” Us stores also left 33,000 people without jobs. In recent months, those workers have been fighting for severance pay. The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that Toys “R” Us private-equity backers Bain Capital and KKR & Co. will be creating a $20 million fund to be distributed to the workers.</s>
• An anticipated auction for the Toys R Us brand has been cancelled, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing court documents.
• Instead, the interests that now control the brand will consider trying to revive both Toys R Us and Babies R Us.
• The move would be the latest in the ongoing saga of Toys R Us, which liquidated all of its US stores this year after entering bankruptcy in September 2017.

Toys R Us could be coming back.

The auction for the Toys R Us brand and rights has been cancelled, according to court documents obtained by the Wall Street Journal.

The controlling interests, including hedge funds and asset managers, that would have gained from selling the assets will instead consider trying to revive both the Toys R Us and Babies R Us brands.

The auction was for everything not already liquidated amid the bankruptcy, including the Toys R Us and Babies R Us brand names, its websites, and the Geoffrey the Giraffe mascot.

Now, the new plan is to consider creating "a new, operating Toys R Us and Babies R Us branding company that maintains existing global license agreements and can invest in and create new, domestic, retail operating businesses," according to the court documents.

The controlling interests, which, according to the Journal, include Solus Alternative Asset Management, arrived at this decision after receiving some bids for the retailer's intellectual property. It found, however, that a plan to revive the retailer would actually be better suited to their interests rather than an immediate sale.

Solus did not immediately return Business Insider's request for comment.

Toys R Us, which was the only nationwide specialty retailer for toys, left a hole in the market after it liquidated all of its US operations earlier this year. It's a hole that that its competitors are trying desperately to fill, as Toys R Us did about $11 billion in sales its last full year of business.</s>The same Toys "R" Us lenders that have been taking heat for their role in the decision to liquidate the company in March are now working on bringing the brand back to life, according to new court documents.

In a bankruptcy court filing Monday, the funds that now control Toys "R" Us said they'd canceled a plan to auction off the company's intellectual property. Instead, they are seeking to reorganize the assets into a new company that will maintain the current license agreements and can invest in new retail operating businesses.

Maintaining the brands under a new independent U.S. business is the best option with respect to the recovery of the Toys "R" Us estate, as well as the benefit of other indirect and direct stakeholders, according to the filing. "The qualified bids were not reasonably likely to yield a superior alternative."

A group of funds that financed Toys "R" Us lenders during the bankruptcy now control rights to the company's name and that of Babies "R" Us, because the intellectual property served as collateral on their loans. The group includes Solus Alternative Asset Management and Angelo Gordon.

As owners of the new entity, the funds will have discretion over trademarks and receive royalty payments from their use internationally. But it may prove difficult to ramp up U.S. operations again given the fallout from the protracted bankruptcy process. Major suppliers including Mattel Inc. and Hasbro Inc. have found new distributors, and customers have largely moved on.

Toys has sold all of its stores and distribution centers, with some of the most valuable retail space going to a separate group of secured creditors. The rest of the stores were either taken over by landlords or the leases sold to other retailers.

Solus and Oaktree have been battling a group of lenders, including Cerberus Capital Management and Cyrus Capital Partners who are trying to take over Toys' Asia operations. The two groups of lenders have fought over how much the Asia stores should pay to use the Toys "R" Us name and other intellectual property.</s>(CNN Money) — Toys “R” Us may be coming back. The company closed all of its US stores in June as part of a bankruptcy liquidation. But the owners of the company’s remaining assets are looking into restarting the business, as well as the related Babies “R” Us brand, the company disclosed in a court filing this week.

Toys “R” Us had planned to auction off the rights to its name and the Babies “R” Us brand. Bidders had already made offers for them, according to the filing. But the company’s owners decided to cancel the auction.

The company said it is considering “a new, operating Toys ‘R’ Us and Babies ‘R’ Us branding company,” the filing said. The plan would “create new, domestic, retail operating businesses under the Toys “R” Us and Babies “R” Us names, as well as expand its international presence and further develop its private brands business.”

The details of when and how the brand would be brought back to life were not disclosed.

Related: Photo Of Geoffrey The Giraffe Leaving An Empty Toys “R” Us Store Goes Viral

The fact that other bidders were interested in buying the name doesn’t necessarily mean that others were looking to bring it back to life. Companies often buy the brands of out-of-business competitors in bankruptcy court to make sure the brand can’t be used again by a new rival. Details of who was looking to buy the Toys “R” Us brand also was not disclosed in the bankruptcy filing.

Toys “R” Us filed for bankruptcy a year ago, with the plans to use the reorganization process to shed debt and remain in business. But after a disastrously bad Christmas shopping season the company announced in March that it would close its remaining 800 US stores and go out of Toys”R”Us, Bankruptcybusiness.

That cost about 31,000 workers their jobs. The 70-year old retailer shut down in June.</s>Geoffrey the Giraffe may be coming back to life.

The Toys “R” Us Inc. lenders that took control of the retailer during its liquidation — and have faced criticism for their role in the shutdown — are now working on resuscitating the brand, according to new court documents.

In a bankruptcy court filing Monday, the funds said they had canceled a plan to auction off the company’s intellectual property. Instead, they are seeking to reorganize the assets into a new company that will maintain the current license agreements and can invest in new retail operating businesses.

Maintaining the brands under a new independent U.S. business is the best option for the Toys “R” Us estate and for other indirect and direct stakeholders, according to the filing, which says bids from outside investors for the assets “were not reasonably likely to yield a superior alternative.”

A group of funds that financed Toys “R” Us lenders during the bankruptcy now control rights to the company’s name and that of Babies “R” Us, because the intellectual property served as collateral on their loans. The group includes Solus Alternative Asset Management and Angelo Gordon, which have been the focus of a worker advocacy campaign seeking contributions to a hardship fund for former employees.

As owners of the new entity, the funds will have discretion over trademarks — such as the Geoffrey the Giraffe mascot — and receive royalty payments from their use internationally. But it may prove difficult to ramp up U.S. operations again given the fallout from the protracted bankruptcy process. Major suppliers including Mattel Inc. and Hasbro Inc. have found new distributors, and customers have largely moved on.

“The company did generate operating profits — and without debt, its profitability would be easier to maintain,” said Seth R. Freeman, senior managing director at GlassRatner Advisory & Capital Group in its San Francisco office. “Still, the timing of this move means the new company misses the critical holiday season, in which 34 percent of Toys ‘R’ Us merchandise is typically sold, giving it a tough three quarters of 2019 to slog through till holiday 2019.”

Toys has sold all of its stores and distribution centers, with some of the most valuable retail space going to a separate group of secured creditors. Other stores were either taken over by landlords or the leases sold to other retailers.

Solus and Oaktree have been battling a group of lenders, including Cerberus Capital Management and Cyrus Capital Partners who are trying to take over Toys’ Asia operations. The two groups of lenders have fought over how much the Asia stores should pay to use the Toys “R” Us name and other intellectual property.

The case is Toys “R” Us, 18-03090, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of Virginia (Richmond).
Toys "R" Us lenders cancel the bankruptcy auction of its brand name and other intellectual property assets and instead plan to revive the Toys "R" Us and Babies "R" Us brand names.