B.C. billionaire Ruby Liu and her bid to buy up to 25 Hudson’s Bay leases was due to come under further scrutiny in court Tuesday — but the battle was waylaid when she showed up with no lawyer or materials to aid in making her case.
Judge Peter Osborne adjourned the Tuesday hearing, telling Liu, “I not only urge but recommend in the strongest terms” that she hire a lawyer to represent her and her plans to buy the leases.
“There are significant concerns being expressed about those plans, so it is important for me to hear from you fully about what those plans are,” he said.
At the hearing in Ontario Superior Court, Bay lender Restore Capital LLC was due to ask him to terminate a deal between the defunct retailer and Liu.
The lender said in court documents filed in the lead up to the court date that efforts to get landlords opposing the deal on board have so far proven costly and unsuccessful, thus minimizing the amount of money it will be able to recover from the collapsed retailer.
To aid in the Bay’s wind down, Restore wants the court to appoint a “super monitor” to subject the department store chain to even more oversight.
Who is Hudson’s Bay benefactor and billionaire Ruby Liu?
If the court doesn’t agree to a “super monitor” arrangement, Restore suggests appointing Richter Consulting Inc. as a receiver.
The Bay said it doesn’t need more oversight because it’s properly governed. It maintains the Liu deal is the best shot it has at recovering more cash for creditors.
Pathlight Capital LP, one of the Bay’s other lenders, supports the Liu deal.
In a filing made just before court began Tuesday, the lender argued “there is no reason to prematurely terminate” the transaction and “eliminate the prospect of significant additional funds being realized by the estate.”
Yet Alvarez & Marsal, the monitor previously appointed to guide the court process, said in its own overnight filing that it has written to Liu several times reminding her of her obligations and asking for information that could be used to get the court to assign her the leases even without landlord approval.
The monitor said Liu has not meaningfully responded, provided landlords with more information that could get them onside or even taken the most basic and necessary steps to advance her bid.
B.C. billionaire Ruby Liu shares her vision for former Hudson’s Bay locations
Liu has previously said she’s provided landlords with information about her plans to build a department store in their properties and believes they will welcome her if a court assigns her the leases in Alberta, B.C. and Ontario
“We will work closely with HBC and have already hired experts,” Liu told Osborne on Tuesday, in Mandarin remarks that Linda Qin, the CEO of her company, translated.
“We have submitted business plans on May 1 and have continually updated the business plan … We are ready to open the stores.”
Liu was previously represented by both Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP and Miller Thomson but has parted ways with both firms. She said Tuesday that she intends to hire a lawyer.
The monitor said pursuing approvals for the deal reached in May is costing at least $4.7 million in rent, property taxes, utilities and other fees each month and eroding Restore’s collateral.
While it didn’t strongly advocate for more oversight, the monitor said it may be appropriate at some point during the Bay’s creditor protection proceedings and it’s prepared to step up, when necessary. The monitor’s report also revealed the Bay has several other lease deals in the works.
One has been reached with a landlord wanting to buy its own lease for less than $250,000.
A second is with an unnamed third-party who wants up to eight leases in Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. One lease was removed from the transaction but landlord approvals are still being sought.
