Additional bidders possible for toy chain

Monday, Jan. 12, 2004 | 11:02 a.m.

WORCESTER, Mass. -- FAO Inc., the toy retailer that filed for bankruptcy protection twice last year, received court approval Friday to auction its FAO Schwarz assets, including leases for stores on New York's Fifth Avenue and in Las Vegas at the Forum Shops at Caesars.

VGACS Acquisition Inc., part of New York-based investment and technology-development firm D.E. Shaw & Co., has offered $20 million for the leases as well as FAO's catalog and Internet businesses. That offer will become the minimum bid at a Jan. 22 auction. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Joel Rosenthal in Worcester, Mass., approved auction procedures Friday.

There may be three other bidders at the auction, Paul Traub, an attorney representing FAO's unsecured creditors, said during the hearing. Rosenthal will consider approving the sale to the winning bidder on Jan. 26.

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