NEWARK, N.J. — The operator of the Disney Store chain on Thursday said that its return of over 200 stores to the Walt Disney Co. could be completed by May if its restructuring plan is accepted by a bankruptcy judge.

The remaining 100-plus Disney Stores in North America would be closed, said Chuck Crovitz, interim chief executive officer of The Children's Place Retail Stores Inc.

His comments came in a teleconference with analysts less than a day after the Children's Place subsidiary that operates the Disney Stores filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware.

The subsidiary, Hoop Holdings LLC, runs 322 Disney Stores. Secaucus-based Children's Place announced last week that it was negotiating to have Disney retake control of two-thirds of those stores. That announcement did not mention that bankruptcy would be used.

Neither Children's Place nor its other subsidiaries filed for bankruptcy, the company said.

Disney, of Burbank, Calif., said the bankruptcy filing was expected and that talks were continuing.

"We are very close to where we need to be, but we are not at 100 percent," Crovitz said. "There are some issues, but we don't see them as being insurmountable."

He said the transfer can be completed following the court proceedings, which he said he hoped would conclude by April 30.

"There certainly are precedents for the action contemplated here," he said.

The cost of the Disney Store transfer and shutdown is estimated at $50 million to $100 million, Crovitz said.

Shares in Children's Place fell 60 cents, or 2.4 percent, to $24.90. Disney shares dropped 38 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $31.38.

Crovitz reiterated that Children's Place was leaving the Disney Store business because needed investments were not expected to deliver economic returns. It took control of the stores in 2004.

In announcing its exit plan March 20, Children's Place said the Disney Stores recorded an operating loss of $92.1 million for the quarter that ended Feb. 2, and $107.3 million for the year. Overall, for the three months ending Feb. 2, Children's Place reported a loss of $58.5 million, or $2.01 a share, compared with a profit of $44.7 million, or $1.48, in the prior-year quarter.

No hearings were immediately scheduled by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Brendan Linehan Shannon.

A similar filing is expected in Toronto by Children's Place's Canadian subsidiary, the company said.

The Delaware petition puts Hoop's assets at less than $50,000, and puts liabilities in the same range. Three of the largest unsecured creditors are Disney entities, but the amounts are stated as "unknown."