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发表于 2009-5-21 06:53 AM
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Wells Fargo Asked to Sell, Not Liquidate Bankrupt Hartmarx
May 21 (Bloomberg) -- Wells Fargo & Co. should sell Hartmarx Corp. to avoid liquidating the bankrupt suit maker, said Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, arguing that the fourth- biggest U.S. bank had been bailed out by taxpayers.
Wells Fargo, the Chicago-based company’s biggest lender, is threatening to liquidate Hartmarx even though a “serious bidder” has expressed interest in the 120-year-old clothier, according to a statement yesterday from Quinn’s office. Selling Hartmarx would save nearly 4,000 U.S. jobs, including 1,000 jobs in Illinois, according to the statement.
“U.S. taxpayers are investing billions of their tax dollars to rescue the country’s banking system, including Wells Fargo,” Quinn said in the statement. “It’s only right and just that this bank do everything in its power to make an agreement now that will ultimately benefit the lender, Illinois workers and the entire country.”
Wells Fargo, which received $25 billion in federal assistance from the government’s Troubled Assets Relief Program, has been under pressure from unions and lawmakers including House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, not to close the clothing company.
Kevin Waetke, a spokesman for San Francisco-based Wells Fargo, didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment yesterday.
Changing Trends
Hartmarx, which reportedly made suits for President Barack Obama, sought Chapter 11 protection on Jan. 23 amid a group of retail industry bankruptcies brought on by a tight credit market, rising unemployment and a U.S. recession. The company also blamed changing fashion trends.
Hartmarx listed assets of $483 million and debt of $261 million as of Oct. 9. The company, which may sell all or part of its assets, said it already owed $113.5 million to banks that gave it bankruptcy financing, including Wachovia Corp., which Wells Fargo acquired in January.
The case is In Re Hartmarx Corp., 09-02046, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of Illinois (Chicago). |
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