LINCOLN, Neb.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--NBC Acquisition Corp. and its subsidiaries, including Nebraska Book Company ("NBC" or the "Company"), an industry leader in solutions for the college bookstore marketplace, today announced the Company’s plan to close 7 of its off-campus bookstore locations by filing a Notice of Rejection of Unexpired Lease with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The stores will remain open for the back-to-school rush this January and will close in mid-to-late February 2012. The Company also announced that it obtained an extension from approximately 40 additional off- campus stores to continue evaluation of performance and negotiation efforts with landlords through April 30, 2012. The Company’s on-campus bookstores are not impacted by this announcement.
“Over the past couple of months we have been taking a close look at our off-campus stores to study performance and future prospects,” said Barry Major, the Company’s President. “The changes in our industry over the last few years have been especially difficult for our off-campus bookstores and we are taking this time to ensure that we are making decisions that improve our bottom line.”
After entering the Chapter 11 process, Nebraska Book Company initiated a comprehensive review of its 138 off-campus bookstore locations to ensure that each store was beneficial to the future growth of the Company. The Company obtained a consensual extension of the court-ordered deadline to assume or reject real-property releases from a number of the Company’s off-campus locations to continue reviewing performance through April 30, 2012. “Our on-campus stores continue to perform well and it is our plan to expand the Company in this direction. Many schools are looking to out-source their bookstore operations and we are excited about growing this area of our business. We currently have approximately 170 on-campus stores and they continue to excel,” said Major.
“Closing bookstores is not an easy decision, as our dedicated employees and campus communities are being affected,” continued Major. “Nonetheless, we have an obligation to do what is in the best interest of our Company. The Chapter 11 process allows us to initiate store closings as it will improve our overall financial performance; something that will be good for the company.”
“Providing our customers with superior products and services has been our primary goal from the beginning and we will not waiver,” said Major. “Our online business is moving forward and gaining the momentum we knew it would and our rental business continues to be more and more popular each semester. We continue to rollout technology solutions that are in demand and they have been well received in the market. Our company has been around nearly 100 years and in that time has developed a great reputation within the industry that has been extremely supportive these past few months as we have moved through this process. We simply could not have done this without the understanding of our business partners who have stood by us during this effort. They understand this is a capital structure issue, not a fundamental business issue and we are truly thankful for their support.”
The 7 off-campus stores that will be closed include: GotUsed Bookstore – Pittsburgh, PA; The College Store – Akron, OH; Spirit Shop – Lubbock, TX; Traditions Bookstore - Woodstone – College Station, TX; Chattanooga Books – Chattanooga, TN; Madison Textbooks – Madison, WI; and Florida Book Store Volume III – Gainesville, FL.
About Nebraska Book Company
Nebraska Book Company began in 1915 with a single bookstore near the University of Nebraska campus and now operates over 290 stores serving colleges and universities with more than two million students. The Textbook Division serves more than 2,500 bookstores through the annual sale of approximately six million textbooks, and the Complementary Services Division has installed more than 1,600 technology platforms and e-commerce sites. Additional information about Nebraska Book Company can be found at the company's website: www.nebook.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” made by the Company and/or NBC Acquisition (together, the “NBC Companies”) within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to, statements regarding the NBC Companies’ ability to implement the restructuring, the size and scope of the restructuring, the effect of the restructuring on the NBC Companies’ balance sheet and amount of debt outstanding, the NBC Companies’ ability to finalize the debtor-in-possession financing, the approval of the Bankruptcy Court of the disclosure statement, growth and profitability of the NBC Companies, the NBC Companies’ ability to continue to operate during the restructuring, and the impact of the restructuring on the NBC Companies’ business. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results and conditions but rather are subject to various factors, risks, and uncertainties that could cause the NBC Companies’ actual results to differ materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to,
- the potential adverse impact of the chapter 11 cases on the NBC Companies’ business, financial condition, or results of operations, including the NBC Companies’ ability to maintain contracts and other customer and vendor relationships that are critical to the NBC Companies’ business and the actions and decisions of the NBC Companies’ creditors and other third parties with interests in the NBC Companies’ chapter 11 proceedings;
- the NBC Companies’ ability to maintain adequate liquidity to fund the NBC Companies’ operations during the chapter 11 cases and to fund a plan of reorganization thereafter, including obtaining sufficient debtor-in-possession and “exit” financing; maintaining normal terms with the NBC Companies’ vendors and service providers during the chapter 11 cases and complying with the covenants and other terms of the NBC Companies’ financing agreements;
- the NBC Companies’ ability to obtain court approval with respect to motions in the chapter 11 cases prosecuted from time to time and to develop, prosecute, confirm, and consummate one or more plans of reorganization with respect to the chapter 11 cases and to consummate all of the transactions contemplated by one or more such plans of reorganization or upon which consummation of such plans may be conditioned;
- goodwill impairment or impairment of identifiable intangibles resulting in a non-cash write down of goodwill or identifiable intangibles; and
- other risks detailed in the NBC Companies’ SEC filings, in particular the NBC Companies’ Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2011, all of which are difficult or impossible to predict accurately and many of which are beyond the NBC Companies’ control.
The risks and uncertainties and the terms of any reorganization plan ultimately confirmed can affect the value of the NBC Companies’ various pre-petition liabilities, common stock and/or other securities. No assurance can be given as to what values, if any, will be ascribed in the bankruptcy cases to each of these constituencies. A plan of reorganization could result in holders of the NBC Companies’ liabilities and/or securities receiving no value for their interests. Because of such possibilities, the value of these liabilities and/or securities is highly speculative. Accordingly, the NBC Companies urge that caution be exercised with respect to existing and future investments in any of these liabilities and/or securities. Investors and other interested parties can obtain information about the NBC Companies’ chapter 11 filing on the Internet at www.nebook.com/info. Court filings and claims information are available at www.kccllc.net/nbc. Caution should be taken not to place undue reliance on the NBC Companies’ forward-looking statements, which represent the NBC Companies’ view only as of the date of this press release, and which the NBC Companies assume no obligation to update.