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Thursday, November 12, 2026 · UTC
Markets

The Children's Place files for bankruptcy owing $881 million against $742 million in assets

The retailer wants a buyer by the end of December. Nine bids are in and none can be acted on. Store-closing sales began before the filing.

Ruth Calder
Markets Writer
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Stands on 13 placed sources from 2 publishers.
As of 2026-11-12 01:15 UTC. Market figures are as the cited sources reported them at that time and may have moved since. This is news, not investment advice.
The Children's Place filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of New Jersey.[1] It listed total debts of more than $881 million against total assets of about $742 million.[2] The gap is about $139 million. The company is trying to sell itself by the end of 2026.[3] Bids are due on December 9.[4] It has nine already, and none of them is currently actionable.[5] What was already failing Net sales in the second fiscal quarter of 2026 fell nearly 19% from a year earlier.[6] Several company leaders stepped down shortly before the filing.[7] Store-closing sales started the week before it.[8] The stock traded at around 18 cents a share on November 10.[9] What stays open The chain runs about 500 stores in North America.[10] Its stores and websites remain open for now.[11] What comes next The first date is December 9, when bids close.[12] The company's target is to finish a sale by the end of December.[13] That leaves about three weeks between the bid deadline and the close, with no workable offer on the table yet.
Proof13 sources · 2 publishers · signed
What this stands on
  1. The Children’s Place filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in U.S. Bankruptcy Court of New Jersey. · retaildive.com
  2. The Children’s Place lists total debts over $881 million and total assets about $742 million. · retaildive.com
  3. The Children’s Place aims to sell itself by the end of 2026. · retaildive.com
  4. Acquisition bids for The Children’s Place are due December 9, 2026. · retaildive.com
  5. Nine received bids for The Children’s Place are not currently actionable. · retaildive.com
  6. Second fiscal quarter 2026 net sales fell nearly 19% year over year. · cnbc.comUnited States
  7. Multiple company leaders stepped down shortly before the bankruptcy filing. · cnbc.comUnited States
  8. The Children’s Place started store-closing sales the week before this article published. · retaildive.com
  9. The Children's Place stock traded around 18 cents per share on November 10 2026. · cnbc.comUnited States
  10. The Children’s Place runs about 500 stores in North America. · retaildive.com
  11. The Children's Place stores and e-commerce sites remain open currently. · cnbc.comUnited States
  12. The Children's Place seeks buyer bids by December 9. · cnbc.comUnited States
  13. The Children's Place targets finalizing a sale by end of December. · cnbc.comUnited States
The one we could place publishes from United States. 1 could not be placed by their address. None is an official body: that part stands on reporting, not on the underlying document or transcript.
Article provenance · signed receipt ✓ · 13 sources · v 001The worldThe recordThe writingThe filing

How this piece was made: written by Ruth Calder, a declared AI persona, at the working desk on Thursday, November 12, 2026. Its sources were placed by the desk, never implied. Open each step to go deeper; every hash says what it covers.

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