HMV shops rescued in £50m deal
HMV, Britain's last remaining independent music retail chain, was today set to be rescued in a £50m deal that will safeguard 2,500 jobs.
The move is too late to save the branches in Stafford and Walsall which have already been forced to shut their doors.
But today's news is likely to mean that the HMV branch in Wolverhampton and at the Merry Hill Shopping Centre will be rescued.
Hilco, the specialist restructuring firm, is poised to sign a binding agreement to secure HMV's future following weeks of speculation that the chain and its historic logo could disappear from high streets.
The deal will involve HMV emerging from administration, backed by a new company incorporated in the UK.
Hilco will acquire roughly 130 HMV-branded stores, and all nine of the outlets which operate under the cut-price music brand Fopp.
But the deal is understood not to include stores that have already closed. The Stafford branch closed last week while Walsall's closed earlier in the month.
Hilco has been the front-runner to become the new owner of HMV since soon after Deloitte was appointed as administrator at the end of January.
