NEW YORK — A bankruptcy judge on Thursday approved Borders Group’s plan to sell off its assets via a group of liquidators in what could be the final nail in the coffin for the 40-year-old chain.
Judge Martin Glenn of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of New York approved Borders’ plan to appoint liquidators led by Hilco Merchant Resources and Gordon Brothers Group to sell off its assets. Going-out-of-business sales are set to begin at some stores Friday, including eight stores in Colorado.
The Colorado stores are at Colorado Mills in Lakewood; FlatIron Crossing in Broomfield; Park Meadows in Lone Tree; Marketplace at Northglenn; St. Vrain Retail Center in Longmont; Broadmoor Towne Center and Chapel Hills Mall in Colorado Springs; and Durango Mall in Durango.
The move had been expected since the Ann Arbor, Mich.-based bookseller’s attempt to stay in business unraveled quickly last week, after a $215 million “white knight” bid by private-equity company Najafi Cos. collapsed under objections from creditors and lenders. They argued the chain would be worth more if it liquidated immediately.
There was a small reprieve: About 30 to 35 of Borders’ remaining 399 stores could be sold to rival chain Books-a-Million Inc. The two companies are still in talks, but if that deal happens, it could save about 1,500 of Borders’ remaining 10,700 jobs, said Borders lawyer Andrew Glenn.
Books-a-Million, based in Birmingham, Ala., will become the second-largest U.S. bookseller after Borders liquidates. It operates more than 200 stores in 23 states and the District of Columbia.
