Hilco Capital is one of the firms that are bidding for a rescue deal for the stricken Toys R Us chain.
It emerged this week that executives from Hilco, the restructuring firm which bought HMV out of administration in 2013, are in talks with Toys R Us UK executives.
It was revealed by Sky News earlier this week that Toys R Us is hoping to get bids for its loss-making UK firm this week as fears continue to grow for the fate of the 3,000 workers employed by the group.
The toy retailer has been making losses for seven out of the past eight years. Sources from Hilco have said it is likely that the firm will wait until Toys R Us falls into administration before buying some of the more attractive stores.
The parent company of Toys R Us filed for bankruptcy in September last year after compiling $5 billion (£3.7 billion) worth of debts.
“Today marks the dawn of a new era at Toys R Us, where we expect that the financial constraints that have held us back will be addressed in a lasting and effective way,” said Dave Brandon, the chairman and chief executive.
“Together with our investors, our objective is to work with our debtholders and other creditors to restructure the $5bn of long-term debt on our balance sheet, which will provide us with greater financial flexibility to invest in our business, continue to improve the customer experience in our physical stores and online, and strengthen our competitive position in an increasingly challenging and rapidly changing retail marketplace worldwide,” he added.
Back in the UK, poor Christmas sales led to the group being referred to as “close to unsaveable”.
The group employs close to 3,200 people in the UK. It is already planning to lose 800 jobs through company voluntary arrangement (CVA). This was approved three days before Christmas.