CHANDLER, Ariz. — Bashas' here believes its reorganization plan is better than "the discounted offer" Albertsons LLC proposed to acquire Bashas', according to a letter the company sent to its workers on Friday. "Our plan is to move forward with current management and ownership," Edward Basha Jr., chairman and chief executive officer, said in the letter.
He said he believes copies of the Feb. 5 letter from Albertsons LLC were distributed to news outlets "to create uncertainty in our Chapter 11 process and among our members," adding that his letter to Bashas' employees was intended "to clear up some of the misinformation [from press reports about the Albertsons' letter] and to answer some questions we've fielded today from our members."
Basha's letter said the company has turned in "a solid plan of reorganization" to the U.S. Bankrtupcy Court "that we feel ... is strong and is in the best interests of our members and our creditors."
He said the offer Bashas' received from Albertsons LLC — to buy the company for $260 million to $290 million — was "unexpected and unsolicited" and presented information about the chain's Chapter 11 that were "vastly different from our view of the world. My response ... was that our offer to our creditors was better than the discount offer Albertsons proposed," Basha told employees.
Basha also said that, since filing for Chapter 11 July 12, Bashas' has "met or exceeded all of our cash-flow projections. We have paid all of our operating and administrative expenses allowed by the court. We do not have any outstanding or unpaid post-bankruptcy charges."
The letter also said, "There is no hostility between our two companies, nor are we meeting behind closed doors with representatives from their company — or any other for that matter — to discuss a sale. We are told that it's actually quite common for an outside entity to try to acquire a competitor in a Chapter 11 situation. [But] because we are in Chapter 11, we have a legal obligation to our creditors and to the court to review all options that are presented to our company."
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