Winn-Dixie operator files for bankruptcy

Southeastern Grocers, the Florida-based operator of supermarket chains Winn-Dixie and Bi-Lo, said on Tuesday it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to restructure debt.

The company listed assets in the range of $1 billion to $10 billion and liabilities in the range of $1 billion to $10 billion, the Delaware bankruptcy court filing showed.

The restructuring will reduce its debt by $500 million as it will continue to operate over 580 stores, the company said.

Southeastern Grocers has secured 100 percent committed exit financing in the form of a senior secured six-year term loan facility in the original principal amount of $525 million and an asset-based lending revolving credit facility.

The company said earlier this month it planned to file for bankruptcy and will close 94 underperforming stores.

The margins of supermarkets have been hurt by growing competition from big box stores, including Walmart Inc and online giants such as Amazon.com Inc.

Southeastern Grocers operates its stores in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina and South Carolina.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)