Patrick Dempsey's Bid On Tully's Coffee Appears Successful
SEATTLE (CBS NEWS) - Actor Patrick Dempsey said it appears his bid to buy small coffee chain, Tully's Coffee has prevailed in a bankruptcy auction.
Late Thursday night, Dempsey announced that his company, Global Baristas LLC, made the winning bid for Tully's. His bid beat out Starbucks Corp, which was also present at the auction.
He noted in a KOMO-TV interview that a bankruptcy judge will have the final say on Jan. 11. Still, Dempsey took to Twitter to celebrate:
We met the green monster, looked her in the eye, and...SHE BLINKED! We got it! Thank you Seattle!
— Patrick Dempsey (@PatrickDempsey) 3 Jan 13
Dempsey's company will pay $9,150,000 for Tully's and complete the purchase later this month after the court hearing, he said in a statement.
"I'm thrilled that we won and I'm even more excited about saving Tully's Coffee and its hundreds of jobs," he said. "Tully's is a great company with committed employees, and with its base in Seattle, one of the world's greatest cities, I'm confident we will be able to successfully build the brand and help grow the economy. "
Tully's Coffee has 47 company-owned locations in Washington and California. Tully's Bay Area locations include a shop in the Fillmore in San Francisco, a San Jose spot inside of Safeway and a Pleasanton location. The company, with more than 500 employees, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October.
Dempsey, who gained the nickname "McDreamy" on the TV show "Grey's Anatomy" set in a fictional Seattle hospital, has said he wants to rescue the chain.
"Seattle has been very good to me over my career, and I am honored to have the privilege to own Tully's and work closely with the company's employees," he said in his statement.
The Starbucks spokesman said his company made an offer for 13 of Tully's company-owned stores in the Puget Sound region plus 12 outlets at Boeing Co. sites. Hutson said another bidder made an offer for all other assets - and is in a back-up position for those.
The auction process was not public.
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