U.S. Maker Of Pyrex And Instant Pot Files For Bankruptcy

The Illinois-based maker of Pyrex glassware and Instant Pot multicookers has filed for bankruptcy protection, with as much as $1 billion (£790 million) in liabilities, Mariko Oi reported for BBC News.

Photo Insert: Instant Brands blames high interest rates and weak demand for its problems.

Instant Brands blames high interest rates and weak demand for its problems.

The company, which has more than 2,400 workers, plans to keep operating while it shakes up the business. It comes after another iconic kitchenware brand, Tupperware, warned in April that it could go bust unless it could raise new financing.

Instant Brands says it saw strong sales during the pandemic but its president and chief executive, Ben Gadbois, said that "tightening of credit terms and higher interest rates impacted our liquidity levels and made our capital structure unsustainable."

As part of the bankruptcy process, the firm appointed Adam Hollerbach as its chief restructuring officer who said that sales fell as consumers started to spend less on goods for their homes after the pandemic.

The Illinois-based company, which is controlled by private equity firm Cornell Capital, said it will continue operating with help from $132.5 million of new financing from its existing lenders.

Last week, credit ratings agency S&P Global downgraded Instant Brands, saying its net sales for the first three months of 2023 had fallen by almost 22% compared to a year earlier.

WEEKLY FEATURE : MVP Group Keeps Lights On During Pandemic