Kannapolis, NC, Oct. 3--A consortium of four companies won the bidding Thursday for bankrupt textile manufacturer Pillowtex Corp., submitting the top offer of $128 million.
In a brief news release, the company said the bid by GGST LLC, a liquidation joint venture, will be considered by a Delaware bankruptcy court next Tuesday.
A dozen bidders gathered in a New York law office on Thursday as the assets of the bankrupt sheet and towel maker went on the auction block.
The winning $128 million bid was $500,000 more than the second-highest bid from a joint venture formed by PT Partners, LLC and The Petters Company Inc., Pillowtex said.
The opening bid was $56 million for the entire company, which was submitted months ago by GGST LLC. But if separate bids for Pillowtex's pieces had topped that figure, the company could have been sold to multiple bidders.
The consortium includes Gibbs International, based in Spartanburg, SC; SB Capital Group, based in Long Island, NY; Gordon Brothers Retail Partners LLP in Boston; and Tiger Capital Group in Westlake Village, CA.
Among the companies submitting bids to buy some pieces of Pillowtex were Sears Roebuck & Co., Target Corp., Broome & Wellington, Coteminas, Matalon Pillowtex Partners, May Department Stores, Perry Ellis International and Hilco Trading Co.
In July, Pillowtex announced it was closing its 16 North American plants and eliminating 7,650 jobs, including about 4,800 in North Carolina.
Although Pillowtex is closing its operations, the new owners will decide if any plants will be reopened. In addition, the new owners will determine what happens with the company's well-known brands, including Royal Velvet, Cannon and Charisma.
Most of the bids were exclusively for the brand names, which are considered the company's most valuable assets. Only two of the bids were for company equipment or plants.
The winning bids must be approved by a judge next week at a hearing.
