Wall Street Journal: Key deadline passes without new bidders emerging for Borders
Ann Arbor-based Borders Group Inc. came a step closer to liquidation today when a key deadline passed without any prospective new suitors submitting official bids to acquire the company in a bankruptcy auction, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.
Borders employs about 400 workers at its Ann Arbor headquarters.
Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com
"Still, Borders is likely to entertain offers right up until the scheduled auction in the hopes a white knight will emerge to save the chain," the report indicated.
A Borders spokeswoman declined to comment on the report.
A bankruptcy judge on Thursday officially approved a team of liquidators as the leading bidder in the auction. If they win the auction, Borders' 399 remaining stores would be closed quickly — unless some stores are sold off individually — and some 11,000 people would lose their jobs.
A Phoenix-based private equity firm called Najafi Companies had tentatively agreed to buy Borders, but that deal fell apart after publishers and landlords objected.
Borders was holding out hope that Najafi would decide to bid in the auction anyway, but the WSJ reported tonight that the company has decided against it.
Contact AnnArbor.com's Nathan Bomey at (734) 623-2587 or nathanbomey@annarbor.com. You can also follow him on Twitter or subscribe to AnnArbor.com's newsletters.
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