West Marine, Inc. and seven affiliated debtors are prosecuting a prearranged Chapter 11 plan in the District of Delaware (Case No. 26-10794), filed on May 17, 2026, with a confirmation hearing scheduled for August 11, 2026. The case has converged on a recapitalization outcome after a court-supervised sale process concluded without any qualifying bids, leaving equitization of the term loan debt as the operative path.
The debtors entered chapter 11 supported by a Restructuring Support Agreement backed by 100% of FILO lenders, 96.2% of Term Loan lenders, and 93.9% of equity interests, with roughly $21.5 million of cash on hand. Funded secured debt totaled approximately $429.3 million across three facilities: $251.2 million under the Wilmington Savings Fund Society-administered Term Loan Agreement, $118.9 million under the Eclipse Business Capital ABL Facility, and $59.2 million under the Eclipse-led FILO Facility, alongside roughly $119.9 million of unsecured trade and lease obligations for about $549.2 million of total debt. First Day DeclarationDkt. 15 Distress was driven by macroeconomic volatility, inflation, and roughly $55 million in annual lease obligations against a fixed-cost base spanning more than 200 stores and about 2,600 crew.
Postpetition liquidity is cash-collateral-only under an interim order authorizing use of the prepetition secured parties' cash, with adequate-protection liens, section 507(b) superpriority claims, weekly borrowing-base reporting, and excess-cash sweeps above a $20 million threshold; no new-money DIP facility was pursued. The RSA structured two resolution paths—a default recapitalization equitizing the $251.2 million in Term Loan claims and converting ABL and FILO claims into three-year-extended exit facilities, or a sale of substantially all assets with Term Loan lender credit-bid rights. With the marketing process producing no bids, the debtors are advancing the amended plan toward confirmation, under which general unsecured creditors would share a $250,000 distribution.
The Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors has contested the plan's treatment, pressing a Rule 2004 inquiry into 2017–2024 historic transactions and the prepetition Special Committee investigation. At a July 1, 2026 status conference, the Committee and the debtors reported a consensual path forward, with expanded document production, a deep-dive review of the investigation scheduled for July 6, and an in-person settlement meeting set for July 7, while the Court retained the July 13 and August 3 hearing dates to monitor discovery progress. July 1 Status ConferenceDkt. 335 The Committee estimates unsecured recovery at less than 0.3% under the current plan, so the near-term pivot is whether negotiated plan modifications emerge before the August 11 confirmation hearing and the August 3 objection deadline.
