Syms and Vornado Realty Trust join forces to purchase Filene's

New York City Syms Corp. and developer Vornado Realty Trust were the winning bidders for the Filene’s Basement chain at a bankruptcy auction on Monday, offering $62.4 million for 22 stores, plus the lease for the shuttered Downtown Crossing store in Boston.

The sale is subject to bankruptcy court approval in Delaware on Wednesday. If the agreement is approved, Syms is expected to acquire the majority of Filene’s current operating store leases, store fixtures and inventory on June 18.

“It was a very spirited auction,” said Alan Cohen, the chief restructuring officer for the chain while it is under bankruptcy protection, in a report on Boston Herald.com. “I think the creditors will be very happy.”

Filene's Basement, based in Burlington, Mass., filed for court protection on May 4 listing $83.8 million in assets and $182 million in liabilities.

On June 5, Men's Wearhouse was declared the winner of Filene's first auction. But a Delaware bankruptcy court judge last Wednesday ordered the reopening of the auction after other bidders objected to the result and said the bid did not follow court-ordered bidding procedures.

Syms and Vornado Realty Trust, which had competed against each other at the first auction, subsequently joined forces for the second one for a joint bid.