Friedman's Inc. to sell stores

It is likely that Friedman's Inc. and its affiliate Crescent Jewelers Inc. will put up their stores for sale. The two companies had tried to avoid liquidation of their assets by filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on January 25 2008 under an involuntary Chapter 7 petition filed by a group of creditors on January 22. But as their assets did not attract much during the auction on March 6, the companies will resort to selling their stores.

Together, the jewellers own 473 jewellery stores with assets worth $245 million and a $172 million debt. The court documents say that Friedman’s closed negotiations with the highest bidder on March 25 since it did not conclude in a mutual agreement.