Borders, the national bookseller, announced its bankruptcy filing today and shortly after released list stating that 15 Chicago-area stores will close.
Rumors have plagued the Ann Arbor, Mich.-based company for more than a year that a pending bankruptcy was inevitable. The firm announced in January that it would receive $550 million in senior secured credit from GE Capital to reposition its business model. At the time, the firm said it was considering bankruptcy as a viable option.
That path was taken today as the firm filed for Chapter 11 with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. The filing revealed that Borders had $1.28 billion in assets and $1.29 billion in debts as of Dec. 25.
With the filing, the firm released a document listing that 200 of its 642 stores would be closing in a matter of weeks. Chicago has five stores on the list and the surrounding suburbs add another ten.
Suburban locations include:
- Bolingbrook
- Crystal Lake
- Deerfield
- Evanston
- Matteson
- Mt. Prospect
- Norridge
- DeKalb
- McHenry
- St. Charles
Chicago Locations include:
- 2817 N. Clark St.
- 2210 W. 95th St.
- 6103 N. Lincoln Ave.
- 4718 N. Broadway
- 755 W. North Ave.