CompUSA Acquired by Gordon Brothers Group Affiliate
- Retail Store Operations Will Wind-Down, Offering Consumers Attractive Holiday Bargains on Computer and Electronics Products
- Select Stores to be Sold; With Option to Retain CompUSA Brand Name
- Successful Divisions CompUSA TechPro and CompUSA.com to be Sold
- Creditors, Landlords Assured Proper Treatment
CompUSA announced on December 7th, 2007 that it has been acquired by an affiliate of Gordon Brothers Group, LLC, a global advisory, restructuring and investment firm specializing in retail, consumer products, real estate and industrial sectors. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Gordon Brothers Group will initiate an orderly wind-down of CompUSA’s retail store operations and is engaged in discussions with various parties regarding the sale of certain assets. CompUSA’s 103 retail stores will remain open and staffed during the holiday season, and will offer consumers attractive bargains on computer and electronic products as part of store closing sales.
Active discussions are under way to sell select stores in key markets as well as the company’s highly-regarded technical services business, CompUSA TechPro, and its productive Internet sales operation, CompUSA.com. CompUSA TechPro and CompUSA.com will be operated by the company as going concerns until any sale transactions are closed.
CompUSA will be run by Bill Weinstein, a Principal at Gordon Brothers Group, acting as Interim President, and by Stephen Gray, Managing Partner at restructuring firm CRG Partners, who will serve as Chief Restructuring Officer. Current CEO Roman Ross will continue to serve the company in an executive advisory capacity during the transition period.
“An orderly and expedited wind-down and asset sale process is the best option for CompUSA and its creditors at this juncture,” said Weinstein. “We are focused on assuring that CompUSA’s creditors, landlords and other key constituents are treated properly during this process. We are working hard to achieve the maximum recovery possible for the company’s constituents while also minimizing unnecessary expenses. We will actively communicate with the various parties and their advisors starting today, and in the days and weeks ahead.”
Gordon Brothers Group brings to the table a unique set of skills and experience in the marketing and sale of consumer goods and the management of a portfolio of retail stores. The firm assisted CompUSA with the prior sale of under-performing stores.
“We worked long and hard with Gordon Brothers Group to achieve a business solution that maximizes CompUSA’s assets,” said Roman Ross. “Gordon Brothers Group has a breadth of knowledge and expertise in this area and we take great confidence in their capabilities.”
DJM Realty, a Gordon Brothers Group company that specializes in real estate disposition and valuations, will assist in assessing the leases for CompUSA’s store locations.
Gordon Brothers Group, through its affiliate Specialty Equity, LLC, is working with two experienced advisors who are representing creditors – Lawrence Gottlieb of Cooley Godward Kronish LLP for unsecured creditors and Jim Carr of Kelley Drye & Warren LLP for landlords. These advisors can be contacted directly by CompUSA’s constituents.
About CompUSA
CompUSA (www.compusa.com) is one of the nation’s leading retailers and resellers of technology products and services. CompUSA helps customers unleash the power of technology through a unique blend of products and highly knowledgeable sales staff as well as technology support and service. Founded in 1984 and based in Dallas, Texas, CompUSA currently operates 103 stores in major metropolitan markets across the continental United States, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. CompUSA serves consumer retail, small-to-medium businesses, corporate, government and education customers. CompUSA’s retail Web site offers an assortment of more than 80,000 products and the ability to schedule technology services and training sessions. Businesses may order from a catalog containing more than 220,000 products as well as select from over 100,000 online products.
About Gordon Brothers Group
Founded in 1903, Gordon Brothers Group (www.gordonbrothers.com) is an advisory, restructuring and investment firm specializing in the retail, consumer products, real estate and industrial sectors. The firm provides a wide variety of services to companies at times of growth and restructuring. Gordon Brothers Group’s capabilities include asset valuations, dispositions and appraisals, real estate consulting and acquisitions, retail store operations, lending, equity investments, restructuring and advisory services. The firm has unparalleled expertise in assisting healthy and distressed companies in maximizing the value of under-performing assets and expanding operations through new products and distribution channels. Gordon Brothers Group’s resources include over 200 professionals and 250 field experts, including former CEOs, CFOs, merchants and executives in offices worldwide. During the past three years, Gordon Brothers Group has appraised over $100 billion of assets, managed more than 7,000 stores, sold more than $10 billion of inventory and restructured or sold over 120 million square feet of retail space. In addition, Gordon Brothers Group currently owns over 1,600 stores through various portfolio companies.
DJM Realty, Gordon Brothers Group’s real estate division, specializes in real estate dispositions, acquisitions, capital solutions and valuations. DJM Realty services the world’s most recognizable brands such as Big Lots, Borders, CVS, Pep Boys, Toys R Us, West Marine and Yum Brands.
