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Bassett Furniture may sell IHFC stake as last resort

CEO Rob Spilman says move not currently on table

Gary Evans -- Furniture Today, April 13, 2009

BASSETT, Va. — Bassett Furniture has disclosed that the sale of its stake in High Point's International Home Furnishings Center is a possibility, but its president and CEO said today that it would be a last-resort move if the economy continues to worsen.

"We're currently not considering it," Rob Spilman told Furniture/Today. He said that listing the possibility of relinquishing its 47% ownership stake in the showroom building was just "verbiage" required by the Securities and Exchange Commission in the company's latest financial report.

Bassett released its first quarter results last week, listing a net loss of $8.7 million as sales tumbled 27.2% to $59.4 million in the 13-week period ended Feb. 28, compared with a 14-week period a year earlier.

In posting its results, Bassett said there is a possibility that the company may fall below the level of tangible net worth required by its lender, and said it was in the process of obtaining an amendment to the lending agreement.

"We've talked to our bank about it, and feel good about the outcome," Spilman said. "If that doesn't work out — and we think it will — then we can talk to another bank. And we have assets we could turn into liquidity, which would mitigate the situation in the fist place. So we just listed some of those possibilities and obviously the IHFC is one."

Bassett has owned at portion of the IHFC for nearly 25 years. The company said it earned $6.4 million in profit last year from its ownership stake. Other owners are the Lincoln National Group and the charitable foundation of the late Randall Terry, former publisher of the High Point Enterprise.

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Bassett may sell IHFC stake as last resort

Apr 20, 2009

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