Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co.
Ticker: GAPTQ
YTD stock performance: -76%
Market cap: $2.7 million
Fortune 500 rank: 278
After a protracted restructuring in bankruptcy court, the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company expects to emerge as a privately held company early next year.
The company operates several grocery store chains across the Northeast, including A&P, Pathmark and The Food Emporium. But the 152-year-old grocer has struggled to compete with big-box rivals such as Wal-Mart.
A&P's stock is down 77% this year and trades for about 5 cents a share.
In debt up to its eyeballs, A&P filed for bankruptcy late last year and launched a turnaround program. It closed stores, renegotiated contracts with suppliers and extracted significant concessions from unionized workers.
In November, A&P announced that it had received $490 million from a group of investors including the private equity firm run by billionaire investor Ron Burkle and funds managed by Goldman Sachs.
A&P said the financing agreement would enable it to exit Chapter 11 as a private company within months.