JOANN, an arts and craft retail company, emerged from its court-supervised financial restructuring process and has substantially reduced its funded debt by half. The company further enhanced its liquidity through a $153 million exit financing facility that replaces the previously-announced debtor-in-possession financing. The prepackaged Chapter 11 plan was supported by the company’s lenders, creditors and industry partners, and became effective April 30, enabling JOANN to be in its best financial position in recent history, according to the company.
As previously announced, there were no store closures or layoffs in connection with this process.
“For more than 80 years, JOANN has been a leader in the textiles, sewing and craft industries, and we are now moving forward on the strongest financial foundation in many years. I am confident in this company’s unique ability to continue serving and inspiring handmade happiness with our millions of loyal customers for a long time to come,” Chris DiTullio, chief customer officer and co-lead of the interim office of the CEO for JOANN, said. “We see great opportunities ahead for this business and are as committed as ever to our customers, team members and communities nationwide.”
JOANN’s prepackaged joint plan of reorganization was confirmed by the bankruptcy court on April 25 with the unanimous support from all voting creditors. The expedited process lasted fewer than 45 days thanks to alignment and support among all involved parties. In conjunction with its exit from the court supervised process, JOANN is now a private company.
“We are very pleased with how smoothly and swiftly this process has progressed and are incredibly appreciative of the support from our lenders, creditors and industry partners, not to mention our more than 18,000 team members in our stores, distribution centers and corporate headquarters who remain committed to our mission,” Scott Sekella, CFO and co-lead of the interim office of the CEO for JOANN, said. “We have now emerged as a significantly strengthened business and will continue to invest in our teams, communities and the customer experience.”
