Bed Bath & Beyond says it now has about $360 million in proceeds from Feb. equity offering called ‘most unusual’ by one analyst

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc.
BBBY,
-3.60%
said Wednesday it has received about $135 million in gross proceeds from the exercise of preferred stock warrants that were issued as part of a public equity offering conducted on Feb. 7. That deal, which was described by KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst Bradley Thomas as “one of the most unusual financing situations we have witnessed in 20+ years of following consumer and retail companies,” has now produced total proceeds of $360 million. The company sold convertible preferred stock and the warrants to raise an initial $225 million and said it could raise up to an additional $800 million. Proceeds have been used to repay outstanding revolving loans, “creating additional liquidity opportunities to support business operating activities,” it said in a Wednesday release. The news comes after the troubled retailer said last week it had made the interest payments on senior notes that were due Feb. 1.  “Since closing our equity financing last month, we have engaged with suppliers to improve our inventory positioning and we have continued to optimize our brick-and-mortar footprint through store closures to align with customer preference,” CEO Sue Gove said in the release. The company has now entered into a waiver and amendment to its credit agreement, she added. The stock has fallen 94% in the last 12 months.