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Microcap & Penny Stocks : Ames Department Stores (AMES) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Arthur Tang who wrote (1889)	8/20/2001 11:13:56 AM
From: Dan Duchardt	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1911

ROCKY HILL, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 20, 2001--Ames Department Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMES), announced today that it has filed for voluntary reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in the Southern District of New York in order to focus resources on Ames' solid nucleus of stores and ensure the company's future success.

To: Arthur Tang who wrote (1889)	8/20/2001 5:47:19 PM
From: Clement	Respond to of 1911

dailynews.yahoo.com Reuters article on Yahoo!: Ames Files for Bankruptcy By Anna Driver CHICAGO (Reuters) - Discount retail chain Ames Department Stores Inc. (Nasdaq:AMES - news) on Monday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the second time in 11 years, becoming the latest U.S. retailer to succumb to the economic downturn and heavy debt levels. The company based in Rocky Hill, Conn., which last week announced plans to lay off about 2,000 people and close 47 stores, said its remaining 400 stores will remain open as it reorganizes. Trade in Ames was halted on Nasdaq before the announcement. The stock, which last traded at 69 cents, has lost more than half its value since the beginning of the year. Ames, which is burdened by debt from its March 1999 acquisition of the Hills Stores Co. chain, joins other retailers that were forced to file for bankruptcy and liquidate assets, including discounter Bradlees Inc., Montgomery Ward & Co. and the Caldor chain. In 1990, Ames filed for bankruptcy after acquiring the Zayre Corp. chain. The company emerged from Chapter 11 in 1992. The chain, founded in 1958, sells housewares, apparel, electronics and pet supplies, among other things. ``After considering all available options, and in light of today's difficult economic climate, we have concluded that reorganization is the best course for Ames,'' Chairman and Chief Executive Joseph Ettore said in a statement. ``With the burden of our debt leverage and certain unprofitable leases removed,'' he said, ``Ames will be better positioned to realize the strong potential of our solid base of over 400 stores.'' The company has almost $2 billion in assets and $1.56 billion in liabilities, according to a document filed with U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York. Its largest creditor is Chase National Corporate Services Inc., with $200 million in unsecured claims, court documents said. ``The key is, can all the asset classes figure out how to keep this thing going?,'' said Eric Beder, retail analyst at Ladenburg, Thalmann & Co. ``For the Hills acquisition, they paid too much and the economy did not help them. But if the economy was good, this company would not be in bankruptcy.'' Ames customers, who typically have annual income of $30,000 and under, have been hit hard by job cuts in the stalled U.S. economy and have cut back on purchases at the discounters' stores. Ames said it completed two agreements for debtor-in-possession credit facilities totaling $755 million, with $700 million coming from GE Capital, the finance arm of General Electric Co. (NYSE:GE - news), and $55 million coming from Kimco Realty Corp. (NYSE:KIM - news) Ames also said it will reimburse its suppliers on normal terms for merchandise delivered and services provided after the filing.

To: Arthur Tang who wrote (1889)	8/20/2001 7:42:54 PM
From: Clement	Respond to of 1911

FYI - WSJ article prior to bankruptcy filings ===================== WSJ: Some Vendors Won't Ship To Ailing Ames Dept Stores By Joseph Pereira Of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL 08/19/2001 Dow Jones News Service (Copyright (c) 2001, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.) BOSTON -(Dow Jones)- Despite moves by Ames Department Stores Inc. (AMES) in the last two weeks to shutter 47 more stores and secure $75 million in additional financing, the ailing discount chain still has yet to convince some of its vendors to ship merchandise. At least a half dozen of its bigger suppliers are withholding back-to-school and Christmas shipments to the Rocky Hill, Conn. concern until Ames clears its debt with them, said Burt P. Flickinger III, managing director for Reach Marketing, an advisor to the vendor firms. In an interview Flickinger said his "suppliers won't ship second half orders until they're paid in full for the first half." Flickinger estimated Ames' debt to his clients to be excess of $10 million. He declined to name his vendor clients or specify how much each are owed, citing client confidentiality agreements. Orders being withheld include lingerie, everyday wear, consumer electronics, health and beauty aids, beverages, cookies, candies, household cleaners, hardline goods and paper products. Payments due each vendor range from "$500,000 to more than $2.5 million," Flickinger said. Ames hasn't depleted its $800 million secured revolving credit facility it received from General Electric Co.'s (GE) General Electric Capital Corp. in January. But its credit line under that facility is getting dangerously close to the $75 million trigger point at which Ames would be in violation of a covenant with its lender, according to people familiar with the retailer's finances. At the end of the first quarter Ames had approximately $90 million in cash. In an interview earlier this month Ames chief financial officer Rolando de Aguiar said that the retailer is "nowhere near" the limits of its revolving credit facility. And he added that additional financing of $75 million from Kimco Funding LLC, an affiliate of Kimco Realty Corp. (KIM) provides "plenty of cushion for Ames." Nonetheless "many in the vendor community" are of the belief that the added financing won't be sufficient to carry Ames into the holiday season and that the discount chain could file for bankruptcy protection against its creditors as early as this week, Flickinger said. Reached at her office over the weekend, Amy Romano, an Ames spokeswoman, said "the company doesn't comment on speculation." She added that no one at the firm would be available to address Ames' vendor payment issues until Monday. In a spate of recent press releases the company has blamed its financial deterioration on a souring economy along with higher gas prices and rising energy costs. Year-to-date same store sales at Ames fell 7.4% to $1.48 billion from $1.60 billion in the year-ago period. But Flickinger noted that over the same period many of Ames' competitors have thrived. Same store sales at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT), Kmart Corp. (KM), Target Corp. (TGT) and Kohl's Corp. (KSS) respectively grew 6.6%, 3.4%, 3.1% and 5.6% this year.