Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. said Dec. 14 it will sell Cost Plus World Market to LA-based private equity firm Kingswood Capital Management.
Cost Plus World Market is Bed Bath’s remaining non-core banner.
The company also approved a new $150 million accelerated share repurchase program, which will be in addition to the $225 million ASR announced on Oct. 28. Both programs are expected to be completed by Feb 27, the end of Bed Bath’s fiscal year.
By approving the new ASR, its expanded total share repurchase program is now $825 million over the next three years. Bed Bath is funding both ASR programs with cash resources largely generated from recent sales of non-core assets.
Mark Tritton, CEO, Bed Bath and Beyond. – BED BATH & BEYOND
“We’ve taken deliberate steps throughout the year to streamline our portfolio and fortify our strategic focus in Home, Baby and Beauty & Wellness, and today’s announcement represents the conclusion of this work,” CEO Mark Tritton said. “In all, we have unlocked significant value from the divestiture of 5 business concepts this year, and we have also meaningfully reduced our lease liability and overall debt. These actions provide greater financial flexibility to support our digital first, omni-always transformation and our commitment to deliver sustainable total shareholder return.”
The approval of a second ASR program reflects the company’s strong liquidity and confidence in its strategic growth plan, Tritton said.
With the purchase of CPWM, Kingswood Capital Management gets 243 brick-and-mortar locations, the CPWM digital business, two distribution facilities, and a corporate office located in Alameda, Calif.
Plans for the sale were originally reported in June by Bloomberg, when also reporting that Bed Bath sought the sale of Christmas Tree Shops. That sale, officially announced in October to Handil Holdings LLC in Tampa, Fla., was completed alongside the sale of its institutional Linen Holdings business to Denver-based The Linen Group LLC in November.
CPWM is expected to continue to operate as a stand-alone retail brand. The transaction is anticipated to close prior to Feb. 2021 and is subject to customary closing conditions.
Further financial terms of the sale were not disclosed.
