Investor to Rescue Brown & Cole

ELLIOT ZWIEBACH

Bellingham, Wash. — Brown & Cole here said last week it has agreed to sell a majority stake in the company to a California investment firm, which will enable the retailer to emerge from a yearlong bankruptcy by the end of the year.

Hancock Park Associates, Los Angeles, said it has agreed to purchase controlling interest in the 20-store operation for $43 million.

Brown & Cole is jointly owned by Brown & Cole Inc., and by Associated Grocers, Seattle, which was sold to Los Angeles-based Unified Grocers at the end of September.

The agreement with Hancock Park Associates must be approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Seattle, which will hear Brown & Cole's plan of reorganization at a hearing scheduled for early December, Sue Cole, the chain's public affairs director, told SN. The sale would enable Brown & Cole to retain current management intact, with no layoffs or store closures and all union contracts remaining in place, she said.

The deal also includes the promise of a capital investment by Hancock Park for store improvements, Cole said.

According to its website, HPA said it typically invests $5 million to $25 million in companies with revenues of $50 million to $100 million at the time of acquisition. Brown & Cole's annual sales are approximately $225 million, according to industry sources.

In a letter to employees, Craig Cole, president and chief executive officer, said the proposed sale to HPA “will be a tremendous outcome for our company, its employees and customers … [because] we will now have the solid financial backing to strengthen and anchor our business for years to come.”