The sale of about 1,700 RadioShack stores to telecommunications holding company Sprint and the hedge fund Standard General has been approved by a court in Wilmington, Delaware.
As we previously reported, RadioShack filed for bankruptcy protection in February after agreeing to sell the stores to Standard General, which is its biggest shareholder. The US-based electronics retail chain has not turned a profit since 2011.
The judge’s decision to allow the sale will ensure over 7,000 jobs are saved. Sprint and Standard General have agreed to buy the majority to 2,400 of RadioShack’s 4,000 company-owned stores in the US. Sprint is likely to operate ‘store within a store’ departments in these outlets, meaning the RadioShack name and branding will not be disappearing completely.
According to The Blade, the ruling was reached after four days of contentious hearings at the bankruptcy court, where creditors argued with RadioShack and each other over how much the stores were worth and how proceeds of the sale should be used.
Standard General last week won an asset auction with a bid of approximately US$145.5m, which was disputed by creditor Salus Capital Partners, who dubbed the auction a sham. RadioShack countered that Salus missed its chance to outbid Standard General.
RadioShack is one of America’s best known retail brands. In 1977, it began selling one of the first mass market computers, with an operating system designed by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. But having posted losses for the last 11 consecutive quarters, the company appears to have submitted to the rise of e-commerce and slowing mobile phone sales.
Radioshack image via Shutterstock
