Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company Files Bankruptcy

The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (A&P) and affiliated Debtors filed for Chapter 11 protection with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York, lead case number 10-24549. The Company, which operates conventional supermarkets, combination food and drug stores, and discount food stores, is represented by Paul M. Basta of Kirkland & Ellis. A&P has entered into an $800 million D.I.P. facility with JPMorgan Chase & Co. Company president and chief executive officer, Sam Martin said, “We have taken this difficult but necessary step to enable A&P to fully implement our comprehensive financial and operational restructuring. While we have made substantial progress on the operational and merchandising aspects of our turnaround plan, we concluded that we could not complete our turnaround without availing ourselves of Chapter 11. It will allow us to restructure our debt, reduce our structural costs, and address our legacy issues.” Mr. Martin continued, “With the protections afforded by the Bankruptcy Code and the backing of a new, pre-eminent lender, we can make strategic decisions that will benefit the Company over the long term, enabling A&P to emerge with a new capital structure and in a much improved position to exploit its fundamental strengths.”

source: BankruptcyData.com