(Bloomberg) — Bankrupt Big Lots Inc. has struck a deal to rescue hundreds of stores after an earlier sale of the company fell through, saving the chain from complete closure.

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The company announced Friday that it has agreed to a transaction with Gordon Brothers Retail Partners LLC that will facilitate the transfer of Big Lots’ brand, stores and distribution centers to other operators. The proposed transaction would prevent the possible closure of all Big Lots locations after a previous deal to sell the company to Nexus Capital Management LP fell through earlier this month.

Big Lots said Variety Wholesalers Inc., which operates several discount chains in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions, plans to acquire between 200 and 400 locations as part of the transaction, the company said. Variety Wholesalers intends to continue operating the stores under the Big Lots name and “may employ Big Lots employees in the acquired stores and distribution centers, as well as certain corporate employees necessary to support the future presence,” the retailer said.

The proposed transaction is subject to certain closing conditions and must be approved by a bankruptcy judge. Big Lots is scheduled to appear in Delaware bankruptcy court on Monday.

Big Lots operated more than 1,300 locations and employed more than 27,000 people when it filed for Chapter 11 in September and had been working with Nexus for months. But the deal fell through after the company’s inventory levels came in lower than expected, making the economics of selling to Nexus no longer viable, Bloomberg News reported.

The company subsequently announced in bankruptcy court that it would begin closing operations at about 870 locations, and advisers sought an alternative transaction to save hundreds of Big Lots stores. Judge J. Kate Stickles, who is overseeing the Chapter 11 case, had warned lawyers that Big Lots had little time to find a new transaction.

Big Lots President and CEO Bruce Thorn said in a statement Friday that the deal with Gordon Brothers and Variety Wholesalers is the company’s best opportunity to save jobs, maximize the value of its assets and continue the Big Lots brand .

The case is Big Lots Inc., No. 24-11967, in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

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