Orchard Supply receives DIP financing

Bloomberg is reporting that Orchard Supply Hardware Stores Corp. received bankruptcy court approval for $176.3 million in financing. 

The debtor-in-possession loan will fund operations at some 60 Orchard Supply Stores, as the California chain awaits finalization of an acquisition offer put forth by Mooresville, N.C.-based Lowe’s. 

“I believe the aggregate facility is necessary for the company” and gives suppliers confidence the company will have adequate liquidity to continue going forward, Chris Newman, Orchard Supply’s chief financial officer, told the judge, according to Bloomberg.

Orchard says it will operate as a separate, standalone business at the completion of the sale process, retaining its brand, management team and associates. The chain was spun off a standalone business from Sears in 2011. It filed for bankruptcy last month.