(Reuters) – Flooring specialty retailer LL Flooring said on Sunday it had filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Securities Act and was seeking a sale of its business as a going concern.

The company is in active negotiations with several bidders and is trying to obtain court approval to sell its business in the first weeks of the bankruptcy proceedings, it said in a statement.

The Richmond, Virginia-based company also announced that it had secured $130 million in debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing from an existing banking group led by Bank of America.

LL Flooring also announced that the company plans to close 94 of its stores.

LL Flooring is one of the U.S.’s leading hardwood flooring retailers, with more than 300 stores nationwide.

According to a court filing in Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, the company listed estimated assets in the range of $500 million to $1 billion and liabilities in the range of $100 million to $500 million.

Last year, LL Flooring said it was exploring strategic alternatives, including a possible sale. In October 2023, US investment firm Live Ventures offered to buy the company for around $180 million in cash.

(Reporting by Kanjyik Ghosh; Editing by Sonia Cheema)