Iconic retailer J.C.Penney, which has missed a debt payment last week of $17 million, has until tomorrow to pay a $12 million payment is skipped in April.

All signs point to the company filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Multiple reports indicate that the retailer also is poised to close some 200 of its 850 stores as it hopes to climb out of the hole that it is in, made deeper by having to close during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As of February, JCPenney had $386 million in cash on hand, plus the roughly $1.25 billion it tapped from its $2.35 billion revolving credit line two months ago. A bankruptcy filing could give the company the opportunity to save money on imminent debt payments and rework some of its finances.

And according to Footwear News, in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission over the weekend, JC Penney announced it had granted a cash award of $4.5 million to CEO Jill Soltau, while CFO Bill Wafford, chief merchant Michelle Wlazlo and chief human resources officer Brynn Evanson each received $1 million.

The bonuses are subject to repayment if the executive is terminated or resigns before January next year and if certain performance goals are not achieved. (The repaid funds will then be used to pay severance to employees who did not receive cash awards.) In exchange for the bonuses, the executives are giving up their previously granted equity worth more than $10 million for Soltau alone.

The company has reportedly asked for $450 million debtor-in-possession financing before its bankruptcy filing.

For fiscal year 2019 that ended on Feb. 1 of this year, JC Penney had sales of $10.72 billion, down 8% from the $11.66 billion from a year earlier. It also posted a loss of $8 million.

As of Feb. 1, the company had nine stores in Mississippi, with two stores in Northeast Mississippi Tupelo and Starkville.

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JC Penney poised to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection - Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal