PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) – Tim Hortons, the main bidder for the bankrupt Bess Eaton doughnut chain, has offered $35 million, according to Bess Eaton’s lawyer.

The price offered by Tim Hortons, the coffee and bakery chain, includes 48 Bess Eaton Donut Flour Co. shops in Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts, according to The Providence Journal. The news comes days after Tim Hortons and Bess Eaton reached a tentative sale agreement. The deal still must be approved by the bankruptcy court and Bess Eaton’s creditors.

The sale would result in six stores being closed, The Westerly Sun reported. They include shops Narragansett, the Peacedale section of South Kingstown and Westerly. In Connecticut, they’d be in Groton, Old Lyme and Salem, the newspaper reported, citing the sales agreement.

Tim Hortons, based outside Toronto, has more than 2,200 locations in Canada and about 180 locations in the United States. It merged with Wendy’s International, of Dublin, Ohio, in 1995.

Dunkin’ Donuts, a donut and coffee chain based in Randolph, Mass., has said it is exploring placing a bid on Bess Eaton’s assets. Dunkin’ Donuts has more than 5,800 stores in the United States and 29 other countries.

Papers filed in bankruptcy court by the Westerly-based Bess Eaton shows the chain has about $15 million in debt, said the company’s lawyer, Allan Shine. Louis Gencarelli Sr., the company’s president, filed for personal bankruptcy this week, claiming he owes between $10 million and $50 million to his creditors, The Journal reported.

Gencarelli owns about 20 of Bess Eaton’s stores, making his assets a key part of the purchase proposal by Hortons, and the breakup of the company that has been in the Gencarelli family for 50 years.

If the Hortons purchase goes forward, about $20 million would remain after Bess Easton’s creditors are paid.

“There is a surplus of funds for (Gencarelli),” Shine said. “But it’s not as if he’s going to walk out of it with that.”

The president owes about $15 million on mortgages for his Bess Eaton properties and another $15 million to his personal creditors, according to Shine.

AP-ES-03-07-04 1155EST