Following a Bloomberg report on early Tuesday, September 17th that a bankruptcy filing was pending, Tupperware filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy later the same day.

Quoting Bloomberg, Reuters reported on early Tuesday that Tupperware had “more than $700 million in debt”.

The company’s shares were down 15.8% at 43 cents after the bell. They closed down 57%.

News of Tupperware being on the verge of collapse surfaced last year in April.

Back then Tupperware’s shares were trading at $1.24, down 93% over the preceding twelve month period. Today Tupperware’s shares are trading at 51 cents.

Cited reasons for Tupperware’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy include;

A post-pandemic jump in costs of raw materials such as plastic resin, as well as labor and freight, further dented Tupperware margins.

Tupperware’s listed assets sit at $500 million to a billion. Estimated liabilities are between $1 billion to $10 billion.

As opposed to a Chapter 7 liquidation, Chapter 11 bankruptcy allows a business to restructure its debt.

What that looks like for Tupperware will play out over the following months. It’s also possible for a Chapter 11 bankruptcy to be converted to a Chapter 7 if a business can’t be salvaged.

 

Update 26th October 2024 – Tupperware has been sold off to two hedge funds and “a trading desk of Bank of America”.