End of bankruptcy in sight for A&P

NEW YORK — After more than a year since it first filed Chapter 11, A&P has won approval to exit bankruptcy. The company announced that the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in White Plains, N.Y., has approved its reorganization plan, which includes $490 million in debt and equity financing from Ron Burkle's Yucaipa Cos.

A&P filed for bankruptcy in December 2010, after battling hefty debt and intense competition. At the time, the company secured $800 million in debtor-in-possessing financing to keep the 395-store chain open and operational during the proceedings. Since that time, the company has closed stores, reduced expenses and changed its merchandising and marketing strategy.

When the banrkuptcy was announced, A&P president and CEO Sam Martin Stated: "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."

It appears A&P is back on track.