J.C. Penney is preparing for discussions that could ease its debt burden ahead of the critical holiday shopping season, according to a report from Bloomberg.
Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg said Penney’s advisers and some of its bondholders are close to signing non-disclosure agreements that include receipt of confidential company information.
Bloomberg said J.C. Penney bondholders have been pushing for the company to consider a swap or extension on some of its $4 billion of debt ahead of the maturities, in an effort to avoid the last-minute brinkmanship that contributed to the bankruptcies of retailers like Toys “R” Us.
“A bankruptcy filing isn’t currently a focus of the anticipated debt talks,” Bloomberg reported, citing its sources.
A spokeswoman for J.C. Penney declined to comment on the report.
