Sports Authority Inc.’s name, and the right to keep it on the home stadium of the Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos, went unsold at a bankruptcy auction on Monday, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. Instead, three liquidators bought the rights to run going-out-of-business sales at the insolvent chain’s stores, which will raise enough money to pay two top lenders. It’s unlikely the company will raise enough money to repay the approximately $646 million it owes lower-ranking creditors. Tiger Capital Group, Gordon Brothers Group and Hilco Trading Co. won the auction with a joint bid that will guarantee an upfront cash payment for the inventory. The winning bid is enough to pay off an asset-backed loan that was as much as $345 million when Sports Authority filed bankruptcy in March but has been shrinking since. There’s also enough to cover a separate, $95 million loan. Read more.
Listen to the latest ABI Podcast featuring Prof. Juliet Moringiello of Widener University School of Law talking with ABI Resident Scholar Melissa Jacoby about recent retail bankruptcies and their intersection with Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code.