Kirkland’s finalizes deal that will return Bed Bath & Beyond to physical retail
Kirkland’s Inc. has finalized its $25 million investment from Beyond, parent company of Bed, Bath & Beyond, Overstock and Zulily.
At a special Kirkland’s shareholders meetings on Feb. 5, 97% of the votes were cast in favor of the proposal to issue common stock shares pursuant to its term loan credit agreement and subscription agreement with Beyond. Following the meeting, Beyond completed an $8 million equity purchase under the subscription agreement and the mandatory conversion of an $8.5 million convertible term loan as part of the term loan credit agreement.
With the completion of the transaction, Beyond has now provided Kirkland's with a total of $25 million of capital and now owns approximately 40% of Kirkland's outstanding shares of common stock.
As part of the deal, which was announced in October, Kirkland's will become Beyond's exclusive brick-and-mortar operator and licensee for new, smaller-format “neighborhood” Bed Bath & Beyond locations nationwide. The first Bed Bath & Beyond store is expected to open later this year, Kirkland’s CEO Amy Sullivan said in a release announcing the finalization of the transaction
"Today marks a pivotal moment for Kirkland's, as the completion of this transaction and ongoing value of our strategic partnership with Beyond begin to unlock new drivers of transformation following our efforts over the past year focused on revitalizing the Kirkland's brand,” stated Sullivan. “As we look ahead, together with the Beyond team we will continue to leverage Kirkland's core strengths including our merchandising, store operations and supply chain expertise and infrastructure to build a cohesive omni-channel strategy for Beyond's portfolio of iconic brands.”
With plans underway for the first Bed Bath & Beyond store to open later this year, Sullivan said Kirkland’s looks forward “to continuing to explore opportunities to maximize the value of our partnership.”
“We enter fiscal 2025 with additional capital, new opportunities for growth and an intense focus on aggressively addressing underperforming assets and delivering improved profitability,” she added.
Bed Bath & Beyond stores went dark in 2023 after its parent company declared bankruptcy. The brand’s intellectual property was acquired by Overstock.com, which subsequently changed its names to Beyond.
“Through this strategic partnership we are committed to leveraging the strengths of each company to drive long-term sustainable growth as we work together to build the omni-channel strategy across our family of brands," said Marcus Lemonis, executive chairman of Beyond.
Earlier week, Beyond entered into agreement with BBBY Acquisition Co. LLC to acquire the global rights of the Buy Buy Baby brand for $5 million. The brand was formerly owned by Bed Bath & Beyond Inc.
[READ MORE: Bath Bed & Beyond owner to acquire Buy Buy Baby for $5M; eyes stores, tokenization]
Kirkland's operates 317 home décor and furnishings stores in 35 states.
