Men's Wearhouse, Crown bid for Filene's: source
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Men's Wearhouse Inc (MW.N) and Crown Holdings have teamed up in a bid for bankrupt retailer Filene's Basement in an auction being held Friday in New York, a source close to the deal said.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Mary Walrath asked Filene's to let her know by 3:30 pm EDT (1730 GMT), whether the auction was completed. If so, she would hold a hearing at 4 p.m.; if not, the hearing would be held on Monday, the source said.
An affiliate of Men's Wearhouse, K&G Acquisition, had submitted the winning bid at an earlier bankruptcy auction to buy Filene's trade name, 17 store leases and its retail inventory for $67 million.
On Wednesday, Walrath, ordered the auction re-opened after complaints from rival bidders about the bidding process.
Crown objected to the sale in court documents filed Tuesday, saying the original auction, held on June 5, was not run in accordance with bid procedures, was submitted after a bid deadline, and was a "travesty."
A group consisting of retailer Syms Corp (SYMS.O) and Vornado Realty Trust (VNO.N) had also submitted a competing bid for the assets.
Filene's Basement filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on May 4.
The case is In re: Filene's Basement Inc, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware, No. 09-11525.
(Reporting by Emily Chasan, Phil Wahba and Chelsea Emery, editing by Dave Zimmerman)
