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The FTD Flower Delivery and Gift Service filed a bankruptcy application on Monday with the sale agreement of some companies while paying off its debt and continuing to sell its other brands.
The company, which is nearly 110 years old and headquartered in Downers Grove, began restructuring and reviewing strategic alternatives last year. In March, FTD had warned that it could close down or curtail its operations this summer if it did not find a buyer or was not collecting enough money to repay a debt of $ 217.7 million. dollars due in September.
"With the advice and support of our external advisors, we have initiated this court-supervised restructuring process to provide an orderly forum to facilitate the sale of our businesses and allow us to process a short-term debt maturity." Scott Levin, President and CEO of FTD, said in a press release. "It's important to note that everyone involved in this process understands the critical role of our talented member florists and we intend to continue to support them as usual throughout this process."
FTD announced that it has secured $ 94.5 million from existing lenders to finance its operations during the restructuring and sale of parts of its business.
Nexus Capital, a California-based private equity firm, has agreed to buy FTD's North American and Latin American operations, including ProFlowers, for $ 95 million, FTD said.
She also signed letters of intent with potential buyers for Shari's Berries personal creation and berry activities. Any sale will always require the approval of the bankruptcy court.
In the meantime, FTD has stated that its operations continue to function as usual, registering new orders and filling those already made.
FTD's European-based Interflora business, which is not part of Chapter 11, was sold to a subsidiary of The Wonderful Co. for $ 59.5 million, the company said.
According to the company's history, FTD began operations in 1910, when 13 florists agreed to exchange their orders for deliveries outside the city. In 2014, it acquired $ 430 million for ProFlowers online florist and sister brands Shari's Berries and Personal Creations, hoping to attract more customers offering a wider variety of floral and gift products, wrote Levin in court.
But society has struggled to integrate new businesses. It was also facing new competition from other companies that were delivering fresh flowers directly to consumers and increasing customer resistance to shipping costs, Amazon and other online trading companies prompting them to expect a quick and free delivery, said Levin.
FTD implemented a turnaround strategy, but sales continued to decline and financial constraints hampered reinvestment efforts in FTD's business, Levin said in court. Last year, total sales of the entire FTD business decreased by 6%, reaching $ 1.01 billion. The company lost $ 224.7 million in 2018, compared with $ 234 million in 2017, the company announced in March.
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