The demise of Toys R Us, the retailer that fueled our childhoods, is a complex and sad tale. It was never as simple as getting crushed by Amazon’s online sales as some suggest. Certainly failing to build an online empire of its own while Amazon prepared to eat Geoffrey the Giraffe’s lunch didn’t help, but neither did a string of private equity owners who treated the store as their private capital loss.
It turns out the “R” in the name was as backward as the business model.
Speaking of private equity, it shouldn’t shock you to learn that Toys R Us was in deep with Kirkland & Ellis — the megafirm that’s fueled its meteoric rise to the top of the Am Law 100 by becoming the go-to private equity shop in the world.
With Toys R Us going down the tubes, Kirkland showed up at the bankruptcy proceedings with a hefty bill for services rendered — specifically its bankruptcy representation. In a sense, Kirkland is the last one to pick up something cool from Toys R Us, in this case $56 million for a little over a year of work. Not a bad haul, but not as cool as Omega Supreme.
Now that the firm has some cold hard cash lying around, perhaps Kirkland will join Gunderson in offering some summer bonuses.
Kirkland & Ellis Awarded $56 Million in Toys ‘R’ Us Bankruptcy [Big Law Business]
Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.