Restructuring specialist Hilco has been given control of HMV UK to try and save the ailing UK high street name, it has been confirmed.
Many will not have heard of Hilco, but the company already owns HMV Canada after a buyout in 2011. The company specialises in saving failing high street stores and has been the odds-on favourite to take on HMV UK, beating out competition from a consortium of UK music labels and film industry companies, which included Sony and Universal.
Hilco takes on HMV’s current debt which is estimated at £176 million, although the price paid for the company is said to be much less due to it currently being in administration.
The deal doesn’t mean that HMV is now owned by Hilco, but it does mean that the company has effective control of its operations.
It’s thought that Hilco was favoured due to its current ownership of HMV Canada, which it bought for £2 million back in 2011. The idea is that HMV will be able to obtain better credit terms from suppliers going forward under the Hilco name; something it was beginning to struggle with before entering administration.
Both Hilco and HMV are yet to release a comment regarding the buyout.