Ames and Creditors Committee Work Toward Plan of Reorganization; Committee Expresses Satisfaction and Confidence With Ames' Progress.Business Editors ROCKY HILL Rocky Hill, town (1990 pop. 16,554), Hartford co., central Conn., a suburb of Hartford, on the Connecticut River; settled c.1650, inc. 1843. Chemical coatings and synthetic textiles are made there. Rocky Hill was an important river port from 1700 to 1820. , Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 14, 2002 Ames Department Stores This is a list of department stores. In the case of department store groups the location of the flagship store is given. This list does not include large specialist stores, which sometimes resemble department stores. , Inc. (OTC OTC See: Over-the-counter. OTC See over-the-counter market (OTC). : AMESQ) and the statutory Creditors Committee in its Chapter 11 case announced today that they are working diligently dil·i·gent adj. Marked by persevering, painstaking effort. See Synonyms at busy. [Middle English, from Old French, from Latin d toward the development of a consensual CONSENSUAL, civil law. This word is applied to designate one species of contract known in the civil laws; these contracts derive their name from the consent of the parties which is required in their formation, as they cannot exist without such consent. 2. plan of reorganization that will enable Ames to emerge from bankruptcy this year. The joint announcement followed the January 10 meeting of the Company and the Committee, during which the Committee expressed satisfaction and confidence with the progress Ames has made to date operating under Chapter 11, its ability to emerge from bankruptcy and with the excellent working relationship that has developed between the Company and the Committee. Over the last several months Ames has taken a variety of actions to address its problem areas and to assure its success as a reorganized re·or·gan·ize v. re·or·gan·ized, re·or·gan·iz·ing, re·or·gan·iz·es v.tr. To organize again or anew. v.intr. To undergo or effect changes in organization. entity. Foremost among these has been its decisive action in closing 151 store locations as well as one distribution center. The closing of unprofitable stores together with the contemplated conversion to equity of all of Ames' obligations to unsecured creditors Unsecured Creditor An individual or institution that lends money without obtaining specified assets as collateral. This poses a higher risk to the creditor because they have nothing to fall back on should the borrower default on the loan. A debenture holder is an unsecured creditor. will contribute significantly to Ames' restored profitability. As part of its restructuring, the Company also anticipates that all existing equity will be cancelled. Ames also announced the receipt of a proposal from GE Capital to provide exit financing in connection with the plan of reorganization. As currently contemplated, a junior lien lien, claim or charge held by one party, on property owned by a second party, as security for payment of some debt, obligation, or duty owed by that second party. will be provided to the vendors that provide trade credit to the Company after it emerges from reorganization. The Company has informed the Committee that it is in compliance with all financial covenants under its DIP lending agreements Lending agreement A contract regarding funds transferred between a lender and a borrower. . Joseph R. Ettore, Ames' Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, told the Committee: "Ames has had a successful holiday season in all respects including sales, gross margins, and earnings. The Chapter 11 process that started 5 months ago has enabled Ames to close under-performing stores and streamline operations. It will also permit the Company to reduce debt and create an attractive balance sheet so that Ames can excel as a major regional discounter. We are very pleased by the strong support that some vendors have already started to provide and look forward to a strong working relationship with them in the future." Ames Department Stores, Inc. is a regional, full-line discount retailer with annual sales over $3 billion. With stores in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Mid-West, Ames offers value-conscious shoppers quality, name-brand products across a broad range of merchandise categories. For more information about Ames, visit www.AmesStores.com or www.AmesStores.com/espanol. To find the location of the Ames store nearest you, dial 1-800-SHOP-AMES. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-looking Information Statements, other than those based on historical facts which address activities, events, or developments that the Company expects or anticipates may occur in the future are forward-looking statements forward-looking statement A projected financial statement based on management expectations. A forward-looking statement involves risks with regard to the accuracy of assumptions underlying the projections. which are based upon a number of assumptions concerning further conditions that may ultimately prove to be inaccurate. Actual events and results may materially differ from anticipated results described in any forward-looking statements. The Company's ability to achieve such results is subject to certain risks and uncertainties. Consequently, these cautionary statements qualify all of the forward-looking statements and there can be no assurance that the results or developments anticipated by the Company will be realized or that they will have the expected effects on the Company or its business or operations. |
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