Baristas Coffee, which owns six Seattle-area coffee drive-thrus staffed by “attractive female baristas in entertaining costumes,” said Tuesday it hopes to buy Tully’s Coffee when the long-struggling chain is sold in a bankruptcy auction Dec. 27.
Baristas’ announcement didn’t give financial details of its proposal for acquiring Tully’s retail business, which includes 47 company-owned stores in Washington and California.
But in court papers filed last week, Baristas sketched out a proposal to pay about $1.5 million in cash, take on about $2.8 million in existing liabilities, and issue $6 million in unspecified “negotiable securities” to unsecured creditors and shareholders of Tully’s.
Its offer must compete with the only confirmed bidder, a Colorado private equity firm that offered to pay $1.25 million in cash and assume about $3 million in existing liabilities.
Baristas said Tuesday it will bid through a new entity, Baristas Acquisition Partners, that includes several current Tully’s shareholders and other investors.
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