JC Penney is in advanced talks for bankruptcy funding with a group of lenders, a sign the troubled retailer is about to succumb to the economic collapse caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Penney is in discussions with existing lenders including Wells Fargo, Bank of America and JPMorgan for a so-called debtor-in-possession loan that would keep the department store chain’s operations funded during a court-supervised bankruptcy, according to people familiar with the matter.