The on-again, off-again auction of Tom Petters' bankrupt Polaroid Corp. goes back on again today, when a bankruptcy judge will decide whether to approve the company's sale for a much improved offer of $72.6 million.
Documents filed Wednesday show the top bidder was PLR Holdings, a joint venture between Hilco Consumer Capital of Toronto and Boston-based Gordon Brothers Brands.
Patriarch Partners, a private equity firm in New York, appeared to have won last week with a $59.3 million bid. But Judge Gregory Kishel reopened bidding after creditors raised objections. Patriarch's latest bid was $65.7 million. Late Wednesday, a spokesman for Patriarch said it intends to challenge PLR Holdings' bid in court today.
"We will resume the fight in the name of the Polaroid employees ... by filing a higher and better bid with the St. Paul bankruptcy court in the morning," the company said in a statement. "We cannot allow such loss in the state of Minnesota without continued battle."
PLR Holdings offered $40 million cash and $16.25 million in equity; it excluded $16.4 million in assets.
Petters paid $426 million for the company in 2005. It filed for bankruptcy in December, after Petters was indicted on fraud charges, which he denies.
DAN BROWNING
