By Kuldip K. Ambastha
The coronavirus pandemic is continuing to damage the private sector significantly. This week, GNC Holdings (GNC) and the parent company (CEC Entertainment) of Chuck E. Cheese plus Peter Piper Pizza both announced plans for bankruptcy. GNC Holdings will be using the bankruptcy process to close all of its health and nutrition stores eventually and sell itself completely. At first, GNC Holdings will be only closing a small number of stores, but likely all stores will be closed in the end as part of the sale process. CEC Entertainment is currently owned by a private equity firm (Apollo Global Management). CEC Entertainment owns the well-known Chuck E. Cheese, plus Peter Piper Pizza.
Due to the public health risks of the coronavirus, Chuck E. Cheese plus Peter Piper Pizza store locations have been mostly closed. CEC Entertainment will use the bankruptcy process to restructure, with a long-term focus of reopening eventually. CEC Entertainment has already obtained $130 million from lenders, to use as part of the restructuring process. A court-supervised sale process for CEC Entertainment will occur, with bidding to start at a price of $760 million. Due to the coronavirus plus the bankruptcy process, parents of young children will no longer be able to host their children’s birthday parties at the famous Chuck E. Cheese. This is the end of an era. The business toll of the coronavirus has been immense, alongside the much greater and more important human toll of the coronavirus.
Keywords – GNC Holdings, GNC, CEC Entertainment, CEC, Chuck E. Cheese, Peter Piper Pizza, Apollo Global Management, bankruptcy, bankrupt, legal, court, restructuring, restructure, coronavirus, pandemic, COVID-19.
Disclosure – The clients and principals of Ambastha Financial LLC do not have any positions in GNC. Since CEC Entertainment is privately held by Apollo Global Management at this time, it is not possible for the clients and principals of Ambastha Financial LLC to have any positions in CEC Entertainment.
Disclaimer – No recommendations are being made via this post. Past performance is not an indicator of future performance. As an investor, you should do your own research and seek professional advice from a Registered Investment Adviser (RIA). You can lose money by investing in stocks and other instruments. Ambastha Financial LLC does not assume any responsibility (legal or otherwise) for any losses that may occur as a result of actions taken based on this post. All content copyrighted © 2020 – Ambastha Financial LLC.