Boston Chicken Asks Court to Clear Buyout

Boston Chicken Inc. asked a U.S. Bankruptcy Court to approve a $140-million offer for the troubled fast-food chain from Jake Baum, a Texas-based restaurateur and investor. Judge Charles Case will hold a hearing about the offer today in Phoenix. The Golden, Colo.-based company filed for protection from creditors in October. In a motion filed Tuesday, the company said its board had accepted an offer by Baum’s Boston Market Acquisitions Co. to pay $105 million in cash and assume up to $35 million in liabilities. The offer is well below the $1.5 billion in debts listed in the company’s October Chapter 11 petition and doesn’t include provisions for shareholders or debt owners. The company had said its assets were valued at $1.8 billion.