Bed Bath & Beyond Sees One Way to Avoid Bankruptcy

To pay its debts and stay in business, Bed Bath & Beyond said Thursday it's planning a stock offering to raise $300 million. If the sale falls short of that amount, the company said it probably will file for bankruptcy protection, CNN reports. The share price has been dropping and fell again Thursday, off 17% to less than 70 cents a share—that hasn't helped the company's efforts to raise cash and avoid liquidation, per CNBC.

At the same time, Bed Bath & Beyond keeps closing stores. Plans call for about 400 of its 760 or so stores to be shut. The company reported preliminary fiscal fourth-quarter results on Thursday: net sales of roughly $1.2 billion, with comparable store sales falling 40% to 50%. In February, the company tried a stock offering it was counting on to bring in $1 billion. It instead netted $225 million, which went to creditors. (More Bed Bath & Beyond stories.)