Big Lots is preparing to close all of its stores, the bankrupt discount retailer said Thursday.

The company had previously planned to sell its assets to private equity firm Nexus Capital Management, but that deal is no longer expected to go through, according to Big Lots. Although the company continues to negotiate with Nexus and explore other strategic alternatives, it now plans to close all of its locations and plans to conduct “out-of-business” sales at all stores.

Big Lots, based in Columbus, Ohio, operates more than 900 locations across the U.S. and sells furniture, lawn and garden furniture, apparel, health and beauty products and other consumer products. Targeting bargain hunters, Big Lots bills itself as a provider that “delivers bragging rights on everything home, including furniture, decor, pantry and more.”

“We have all worked extremely hard and taken every step to complete a going concern sale,” Big Lots CEO Bruce Thorn said in a statement. “While we remain hopeful that we can complete an alternative going concern transaction to protect the value of the Big Lots property, we have made the difficult decision to initiate the (going out of business) process.”

Large lots registered Bankruptcy protection in September with the announcement that it wanted to sell the company to Nexus. In August, Big Lots announced its intention to close to 315 stores and announced plans in October to close an additional 56 locations in 27 states.

According to recent data from research firm CoreSight, U.S. retailers have announced more than 7,100 store closures through the end of November 2024, a 69% increase compared to the same period last year. This is because 45 retailers have filed for bankruptcy protection so far this year, compared to 25 retail bankruptcies in all of 2023, the report said.