Bed Bath & Beyond lives on!(line); Overstock.com buys rights to bankrupt retailer and changes name
Bed Bath & Beyond will live on, online at least, after Overstock.com acquired the bankrupt retail chain's intellectual property assets for $21.5 million.
The online retailer Overstock.com is dumping its name online and will become Bed Bath & Beyond, which declared bankruptcy earlier this year.
The switcheroo to a very recognizable brand was cheered on Wall Street. Shares of Overstock.com Inc., based in Midvale, Utah, soared 20%.
The deal doesn't include Bed Bath & Beyond stores, the last of which are expected to be shuttered Friday, nor the Buybuy Baby chain.
The name change will roll out in Canada next month and in August, a relaunch of the company's website and mobile app as Bed Bath & Beyond will appear in the U.S. Those visiting ovestock.com will be redirected to bedbathandbeyond.com.
"Combining the strengths of the Overstock operational model and the Bed Bath & Beyond brand will create a powerful synergy," Overstock.com's CEO Jonathan Johnson said in a prepared statement. "I'm excited for consumers to experience the new Bed Bath and an even bigger and better Beyond."
Bed Bath & Beyond - one of the original big box retailers known for its seemingly endless offerings of sheets, towels and kitchen gadgets - filed for bankruptcy protection in April. The filing followed years of dismal sales and numerous attempts to turn the flailing business around.