Bed Bath & Beyond’s intellectual property awarded to Overstock.com, stores to vanish

Overstock.com won an auction for Bed Bath & Beyond’s brand name, intellectual property and digital assets, according to court records filed on June 22. Overstock’s purchase does not include Bed Bath & Beyond’s physical stores. 

Earlier this month, Bed Bath & Beyond had received a more than $21.5 million buyout offer for its intellectual property as Retail Leader previously reported. The sale price is the same as Overstock's original bid, which set the lowest price at the auction, indicating that Bed Bath & Beyond didn’t receive a higher or better offer, according to CNBC. Jowa Brands was selected as a backup bidder solely for Bed Bath & Beyond’s own Wamsutta brand, which includes sheets and towels, the news outlet reported.

The retailer expects to hold a final sale approval hearing on June 27.

On June 20, Bed Bath & Beyond chose to operate a sale process separately for its Buy Buy Baby chain, according to CNBC. The home goods retailer hopes to find a bidder willing to keep Buy Buy Baby stores open, and the banner has drawn interest in recent weeks from buyers.

The auction for Buy Buy Baby’s assets is set for June 28.

Bed Bath & Beyond filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April. The retailer listed $5.2 billion in debts and $4.4 billion of assets in its bankruptcy filing. Since April, the retailer has been conducting close-out sales for 360 Bed Bath & Beyond and 120 BuyBuy Baby locations. All stores are expected to close by the end of the month unless a buyer comes forward.