A little-known baby retailer based in Piscataway, New Jersey, tentatively won the auction for the intellectual property of bed bath and beyond crown jewel Buy Buy Baby, according to court records.
Dream on Me Industries, which sells cribs, strollers and other baby items through a number of retail partners, won Wednesday’s auction with a bid price of $15.5 million, according to court records filed Friday. The assets acquired include Buy Buy Baby’s intellectual property, business data, internet properties and mobile platform, according to records.
Wednesday’s auction was for Buy Buy Baby intellectual property only, after its parent company, Bed Bath & Beyond, decided split the sales process in an apparent effort to secure a higher bid price. Another auction of all of Buy Buy Baby’s assets, including its many stores, will take place on July 7, records show.
Dream on Me’s victory is only tentative. If Bed Bath & Beyond receives a higher bid at the next auction, it could lose its Buy Buy Baby intellectual property rights.
Everyday Health Media, a digital media company that produces health and wellness content, was selected as the supporting bidder.
Buy Buy Baby has long been viewed as the most valuable part of its parent company’s venture. But the price of the winning bid is $6 million less than the $21.5 million Overstock.com agreed to pay for the Bed Bath & Beyond intellectual property alone in a deal that closed earlier this week.
Still, in its most recent quarterly values filing, Bed Bath noted that the intangible value of its trade names and trademarks for the entire business was just $13.4 million. The two offers combined more than double that total.
Earlier this month, an unknown bidder interested in keeping 75% of Buy Buy Baby stores open was seeking an additional $50 million in capital to prop up your proposal, CNBC previously reported. It’s not immediately clear if that bidder is still in the running, but the figure offered an idea of how much bidders would need to buy out the entire Buy Buy Baby business and keep it running as a going concern.
From went bankrupt at the end of April, Bed Bath & Beyond has decided to sell its assets at the highest possible price. The company has repeatedly delayed several auctions as it worked to secure buyers.
Interest has largely focused on Buy Buy Baby, But the sale process is increasingly uncertain after doubts grew in the days leading up to the auction about the number and size of the bids, CNBC previously reported.
The company downloaded its namesake banner to Overstock.com earlier this month. The e-commerce retailer, which plans to rename your website to Bed Bath & Beyond, chose not to acquire Bed Bath’s stores and inventory.
