On the record · Other
Toys "R" Us
Iconic toy retailer destroyed by $6.6B LBO from Bain Capital, KKR, and Vornado. PE firms extracted $464M in fees while loading $5.2B in debt. 33,000 U.S. workers lost jobs when all stores liquidated in 2018.
Research depth
Outcomes researched
Reviewed operating findings or a classified operating outcome are available.
Record updated Sept. 4, 2026
Current ownership
Current owner not established
This record does not identify a current owner. That absence is a gap in the record, not a conclusion about ownership.
1 ownership record has an unresolved current/former status.
Ownership and transaction history
Chronology from recorded ownership periods, transactions and reviewed outcome events. Event order does not imply causation.
June 29, 2018
Operations ceased
Operating outcome
March 15, 2021
Revival or successor activity recorded
Operating outcome
Date not recorded
What happened under and after ownership
Operating outcome
Ceased operations, then returned
Liquidated all US, UK and Australian stores in 2018 after a 2017 Chapter 11 filing.
A new entity, Tru Kids Brands, bought the intellectual property in 2019; brand manager WHP Global took a controlling stake in 2021 and has reopened stores since 2022, including shop-in-shops inside Macy's.
As of WHP Global's March 2021 controlling stake and the Macy's shop-in-shop rollout that followed, operated by WHP Global through Tru Kids Inc., a company distinct from the original retailer.
- Founded
- 1948
- Peak headcount
- 71,000
- Sponsor at closure
- KKR, Bain Capital and Vornado Realty Trust
- Cause
- Debt left at exit
- CNBC · 2021 · WHP Global acquisition of Tru Kids, plans to reopen stores
- Money Digest · 2018 liquidation, 2019 Tru Kids Brands formation
- Wikipedia · founded April 1948 as Children's Supermart; KKR, Bain Capital and Vornado Realty Trust conducted a $6.6 billion leveraged buyout in March 2005
- SEC (Toys R Us Inc. 10-K, company primary) · approximately 71,000 full-time and part-time employees worldwide as of the fiscal year ended January 29, 2011
- Bloomberg · KKR, Bain Capital and Vornado still held their original equity stakes and were wiped out at the September 2017 Chapter 11 filing, confirming they remained the c
- Private Equity Stakeholder Project · the 2005 LBO loaded Toys R Us with over $5 billion in debt, requiring about $400 million a year in debt service that starved investment in stores and e-commerce
What we do not know
These are gaps in the public record, not findings about the organization.
- No current public ownership assessment has been published.
Help improve this record
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