Big Lots holding going-out-of-business sales at all stores

The Big Lots business saga continues.

The discount retailer announced an anticipated merger with private equity firm Nexus Capital Management had fallen through and it will now close all locations. The company filed for bankruptcy earlier this year and announced it was closing more than 300 of its 1,400 locations.

Now, all 960-plus remaining Big Lots will hold going-out-of-business sales.

READ MORE: Is your Big Lots closing? List of almost 300 store set to close in U.S., multiple Alabama locations

“We all have worked extremely hard and have taken every step to complete a going concern sale. While we remain hopeful that we can close an alternative going concern transaction, in order to protect the value of the Big Lots estate, we have made the difficult decision to begin the (going out of business) process,” Bruce Thorn, Big Lots’ President and Chief Executive Officer, said in a statement.

A timeline has not been released for when stores will close and are continuing to operate in-stores and online, Big Lots said.

There is also a glimmer of hope the chain will stay in business. In an email to employees shared with Nexstar, Thorn said the closures could be stopped if a sale is completed.

Big Lots will continue its “efforts to secure an alternative deal with Nexus or another party that would enable us to preserve a significant part of our business going forward,” Thorn said.