Bon Ton Inc., which operates department stores around the
country under the Boston Store, Carson’s, Bon Ton,
Bergner’s, Elder-Beerman and Herberger’s flags, has
been a retail mainstay in Wisconsin and the Midwest. On February 4,
2018, Bon Ton filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy in a failed attempt to
locate a going concern buyer. In early April 2018, its assets were
purchased in a bankruptcy auction by a consortium of liquidators,
which almost immediately commenced going out of business sales that
are expected to be completed by August 31.
Bon Ton’s creditors are trying to determine what their
rights will be and, more importantly, what they may recover from
the bankruptcy process. Bon Ton was burdened with a huge of amount
of debt. The first lien and the second lien creditors held
pre-petition claims totaling approximately $850 million. Bon Ton
borrowed $725 million in post-petition financing to operate during
the Chapter 11 process, and the total pre-petition priority
