Bed Bath & Beyond raises more cash to fuel turnaround effort

Bed Bath & Beyond has raised a total of $360 million from its Federal equity offering.

The struggling home goods chain said Wednesday it has received approximately  $135 million in gross proceeds from the exercise of preferred stock warrants that were issued as part of a public equity offering conducted on Feb. 7. The offering has now produced total proceeds of $360 million. (Bed Bath & Beyond sold convertible preferred stock and the warrants to raise an initial $225 million and said it could raise up to an additional $800 million.)

In a release, the retailer, which has been working to avoid bankruptcy, said it has used proceeds received to date to repay outstanding revolving loans, “creating additional liquidity opportunities to support business operating activities.”

In February, Bed Bath & Beyond announced it was shuttering its Harmon chain and closing another 150 “lower-producing” namesake stores. As part of its new turnaround effort, the retailer also said it would pursue “asset-light” inventory management strategies to drive growth, including vendor-direct-to-consumer and marketplace sales. It also plans to streamline its supply chain, technology, expense structure and business processes as it realigns operations.

“Over the past month, we have been rebuilding our financial and operational positioning to execute our customer-focused turnaround plans,” stated CEO Sue Gove.  “Since closing our equity financing last month, we have engaged with suppliers to improve our inventory positioning and we have continued to optimize our brick-and-mortar footprint through store closures to align with customer preference.”

Last week, Bed Bath & Beyond announced it had paid the outstanding interest due on all senior notes that were due on Feb. 1.

“We continue to work with determination and diligence to fulfill both our near- and long-term goals of maximizing prospects for all stakeholders,” Gove said.

Bed Bath & Bath has now entered into a waiver and amendment to its credit agreement.