The Fate of Family Christian Bookstores is in the Hands of Creditors

Family Christian Bookstore is our nation's largest Christian bookstore in existence.  For years, they have been the major supplier of Christian music, videos, and literature.  However, of late, the company is under hard times.  Last month, after a failed attempt to sell itself to FCS Acquisition, a subsidiary of the chain's parent company, Family Christian Stores asked a bankruptcy judge to let its creditors decide whether the same sale should go through.

Now, the fate of Family Christian Bookstore is in its creditors, many of them Christian publishers and vendors.  They will have up till August 7 to approve or deny the sale to the FCS Acquisition, which has promised to keep the stores open. Even though the creditors and vendors would lose millions, they overwhelmingly approved of the sale last time around, since keeping the stores open means a continued outlet for their products.

The sale must be approved by more than half of the voters holding two-thirds of the debt in each class of creditors, according to the proposal. There are eight classes of creditors, and votes will be weighted by the type and amount of debt held.

Despite 266 stores in 36 states bringing in $230 million in gross revenues in 2014, Family Christian owed more than $90 million. Sales of $305 million in 2008 had steadily shrunk to a projected $216 million this year.

Three years ago, Family Christian bought itself back from private equity owners, and in 2013 promised to donate all profits to serving widows and orphans around the world.

The sale needs to be approved by mid-August so Family Christian has time to prepare its Christmas catalogs and order holiday stock, an attorney for the company said, according to MLive. Many of the company's vendors are asking for cash or refusing to deal with them until they've emerged from bankruptcy, he said.

Please keep Family Christian Bookstores in your prayers.

 

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