• Catalyst Brands eyes bid for 200 stores and IP
• Liquidators circle Children’s Place assets
• Bankruptcy filing expected as soon as early November

The Children’s Place is preparing to file for bankruptcy ahead of the holiday season with plans to conduct a Section 363 sale process in court, said two sources familiar with the matter.

The children’s apparel retailer known for its Gymboree brand has engaged investment bankers at Cascadia Capital to solicit bids, said the sources along with a third source familiar with the matter.

Catalyst Brands is considering bidding for roughly 200 Children’s Place stores along with its intellectual property, said the first and a fourth source familiar with the matter. Major mall landlords Simon Property Group and Brookfield, along with Authentic Brands Group and Shein, are investors in Catalyst, a collection of legacy brands that has acquired many of its brands through bankruptcy sales.

Firms with liquidation businesses like Gordon Brothers, GA Group, Hilco Global and Tiger Capital Group are circling Children’s Place’s IP and inventory assets, said two of the sources.

A bankruptcy filing could happen as soon as early November, said some of the sources.

Berkeley Research Group (BRG) is now advising the company after earlier advising its lenders, some of the sources said. White & Case is serving as legal counsel, they added.

Restructuring expert Elizabeth LaPuma joined Children’s Place’s board of directors this month and the company made a one-time USD 500,000 cash retention payment to its CFO, John Szczepanski, that vests in six months, according to SEC filings.

Saudi investor Mithaq Capital rescued Children’s Place in 2024 by acquiring a majority stake in the company and providing financing. White & Case advised Mithaq on the investment.

Late last year, Children’s Place completed a USD 450m refinancing that saw the company secure a USD 100m FILO term loan from SLR Credit Solutions and extend the maturity on its Wells Fargo-agented USD 350m ABL credit facility to 2030. Mithaq agreed to extend its term loan to April 2031, along with the maturity of its USD 40m Mithaq credit facility to December 2030 from July 2027.

In September, Children’s Place entered into a Shariah-compliant, unsecured and subordinated promissory note for USD 25m in term loans, and then tapped the remaining amount of the loan, which was its second advance under the USD 40m commitment letter with Mithaq.

Children’s Place reported revenue of USD 241.8m for fiscal 2Q26 ended 1 August, down 18.9% year on year, while comparable retail sales fell 16.7%, according to filings. The company said the weaker results partly reflected a slower-than-expected migration of its e-commerce platform and efforts to clear older inventory.

The company ended the quarter with 514 stores and USD 7.2m in cash.

Representatives for Children’s Place, Mithaq, Cascadia, Hilco, Gordon Brothers, GA Group, Tiger, Authentic Brands and Catalyst didn’t respond to requests for comments.