Toys 'R' Us Canada Splits Assets Among Three Buyers to Exit Creditor Protection

Toys "R" Us Canada has reached three separate deals to sell off its assets as it exits creditor protection, nearly two months after putting itself up for sale to pay down more than $160 million in unsecured debt.

Court records show Ad Populum, a U.S. firm that manages several toy companies including those behind Chia Pet and Graceland, will acquire the Toys "R" Us Canada and Babies "R" Us Canada brand names, about 150 trademarks including Geoffrey the giraffe mascot, and digital assets including website domains and social media accounts.

A numbered company owned by current owner Doug Putman has been selected to buy 10 store leases, inventory, equipment, logistics contracts, and bank accounts. Fox Group Jumbo Canada, an Israel-based company opening massive discount stores in Canada, will purchase the lease for the brand's 48,000-square-foot location at Vaughan Mills, just north of Toronto.

The retailer entered creditor protection in February and has been steadily closing locations since. It operated 562 employees when that process began; now it has 260. The company will shed three more stores: locations at Midtown Plaza in Saskatoon, St-Bruno, Quebec, and Kingston, Ontario, leaving the chain with 15 locations.

Court approval for the transactions is required because of the creditor protection status. The company will seek that approval on June 22. The Ad Populum and Jumbo deals are expected to close in July, though no precise closing date has been set for Putman's acquisition.

In the run-up to creditor protection, Toys "R" Us Canada closed 53 stores within two years and faced at least a dozen lawsuits from suppliers and landlords owed money.