The team of Hilco Merchant Resources and Gordon Brothers has won the assets of Hastings Entertainment, which filed for bankruptcy last month. Hilco and Gordon, which liquidated the inventory of Borders when that bookstore collapsed, will begin selling off the Hastings inventory following a hearing July 22 to approve the deal. Hastings’ 126 stores are all expected to close by the end of October.
The liquidation of Hastings comes as no surprise, since Gordon Brothers and Bloomberg L.P. recently emerged as the only two parties expressing interest in the retailer. At Hastings' July 18 bankruptcy hearing, the liquidating company and the financial service media giant showed interest in the retailer.
However, an auction set for July 20 never materialized, as a bid from Hilco-Gordon was the only offer.
The closure of Hastings means the end of a retailer that was, at one point, handling roughly $100 million in book sales. The sale of the inventory is expected to generate enough revenue to not only pay off the money owed to Hastings' bank, but also cover some of debts owes to its creditors, which includes publishers such as HarprCollins and Simon & Schuster.
