- Ashley Furniture's bid of $6.07 million for Berkline/Benchcraft's intellectual property was approved by the a creditor's committee and confirmed by the bankruptcy court judge August 12. Judge Mary Walrath approved an order that requires Ashley Furniture to close on the sale by August 31.

If Ashley does not complete the purchase by that time, Judge Walrath authorized a back-up bidder, LF Centennial Ltd., to purchase the assets. LF Centennial, a holding company based in the British Virgin Islands, is a unit of Li & Fung Ltd., based in Hong Kong and Bermuda.

The court also provided for Streambank LLC to be paid $685,000 commission for managing the intellectual property assets of Berkline/Benchcraft during the transition. Streambank, Needham, MA, specializes in the sale of intangible assets.

Ashley, based in Arcadia, WI,  Ashley operates U.S. manufacturing facilities in Mississippi, Pennsylvania and California, and international facilities in China and Vietnam. Furniture giant Berkline/Benchcraft, Morristown, TN, first filed for voluntary reorganization under Chapter 11 bankruptcy code May 2, 2011.