A federal bankruptcy judge in Delaware yesterday "signed off on Sports Authority's plan to have liquidators start going-out-of-business sales at all of the ... retailer’s more than 460 stores" beginning tomorrow, according to Alicia Wallace of the DENVER POST. The sales "will end by Aug. 31." The order "finalizes last week’s bid by Hilco Merchant Resources, Gordon Brothers Retail Partners and Tiger Capital Group for the bankrupt sporting goods retailer’s inventory." Although remaining assets -- "such as store leases and trademarks -- are slated to be auctioned in June and determinations have yet to be made in contracts such as its naming-rights agreement at Mile High Stadium in Denver, Tuesday’s order effectively is the death knell" for Sports Authority (DENVER POST, 5/25). Sports Authority attorney Jeremy Graves in court yesterday said that in exchange for the right to run the sales, the liquidators "will pay a guaranteed 101% of the value of the inventory, of which 88% will be paid in cash." The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Lillian Rizzo notes Tiger Capital and Gordon Brothers were "previously engaged to run the going-out-of-business sales at 142 of the 450 stores early on in Sports Authority’s bankruptcy proceeding." Graves noted that the proceeds from the latest sales "will be used to immediately pay down a revolving part of the bankruptcy loan, with a small chunk of cash to be set aside to allow Sports Authority to pay rents until at least mid-June" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 5/25).
