Toys "R" Us

Toys "R" Us's 2017 bankruptcy and 2018 liquidation of all 800 US stores ended a 70-year-old retail institution. The chain was saddled with $5.3 billion in debt from a 2005 leveraged buyout by KKR, Bain Capital, and Vornado Realty, leaving it unable to invest in digital transformation as Amazon captured its core business. The closure eliminated 33,000 jobs. Private equity's role in its destruction became a rallying cry for buyout industry reform.