Toys ‘R’ Us Is Said to Hire Advisers to Help Weigh Bankruptcy<br />Toys “R” Us has hired restructuring advisers from the prominent law firm Kirkland & Ellis as it tries to cope<br />with hundreds of millions of dollars of debt coming due, according to two people briefed on the matter.<br />Toys “R” Us closed its flagship store in Times Square in 2015 to save money on rent,<br />but in August, it opened a smaller, seasonal store a few blocks away to take advantage of holiday shoppers in New York.<br />“Toys ‘R’ Us is evaluating a range of alternatives to address our 2018 debt maturities, which may include the<br />possibility of obtaining additional financing,” a company spokeswoman said in a statement on Wednesday.<br />Toys “R” Us must find a way to pay back about $400 million in debt as it tries to increase sales in the upcoming holiday season.<br />The company was bought by the private equity firms Kohlberg Kravis Roberts<br />and Bain Capital, as well as the real estate firm Vornado Realty Trust, for about $6 billion in 2005.<br />For years, the company dominated toy sales, and its Babies “R” Us chain was a leader in baby products like diapers and strollers.
