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KANSAS
CITY, MO. - 84 Lumber was given the go ahead
to purchase 15 former Payless Cashways stores
for a total of $24.8 million by the U.S. Bankruptcy
Court here. The purchase marks the largest block of
former Payless Cashways stores bought to date.
Originally,
84 Lumber offered $24 million for the 15 stores but
upped the ante by $800,000 during a court hearing in
U.S. Bankruptcy Court on Oct. 23. Other parties interested
in purchasing a chunk of the collection of stores, included
Home Depot, which was interested in an Omaha, Neb.,
Payless store, which forced 84 to increase its bid.
The
largest privately held supplier of building materials
in the United States, 84 Lumber will now penetrate new
markets in Oklahoma, Nevada and Nebraska as well as
locations in Lenexa, Blue Springs and Grandview —
all in the Kansas City area. Other locations include
Clovis, Calif., and Lewisville, Texas. 84 Lumber operates
415 locations in 31 states.
Prior
to 84 Lumber's purchase, an undisclosed number of Payless
locations had been sold individually or in blocks of
two and three, according to Craig Graff, Payless' liquidation
trustee and a principal with Stoke, Ill.-based Silverman
Consulting.
Before
the purchase was approved, Randy Vankirk, 84 Lumber
vp-marketing and advertising, told NHCN, "We see
these markets as good business opportunities and growth
opportunities."
Boise
Cascade, the Boise, Idaho-based forest products
supplier, also entered the buying fray on Oct. 23 and
agreed to purchase a Denver-based Payless distribution
center for $4 million.
Once
a 200-store, $2.6 billion home improvement retailing
giant, Payless Cashways headquartered in Lee's Summit,
Mo., filed for protection from creditors under Chapter
11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code on June 4 and closed
39 stores. Payless then commenced going-out-of-business
sales in the same 39 stores fives weeks prior to telling
the court, on Aug. 28, that it had no funds to continue
business operations and would close its remaining 73
stores.
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