Bankruptcy judge approves Borders sale to Barnes & Noble

New York City -- A Bloomberg report on Tuesday said that Borders Group has garnered court approval for the sale of its intellectual property to Barnes & Noble after a recent question about privacy issues was resolved.



U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn in Manhattan approved the transaction after reviewing new terms between Borders and Barnes & Noble that will protect the privacy rights of 48 million customers.



Under the new agreement, Barnes & Noble will email all former Borders customers on the customer list it bought, inform them of the transfer of customer information and give them 15 days to opt out of the list. The former Borders customers would be subject to Barnes & Noble's privacy policy.



Judge Glenn had earlier adjourned a hearing on the sale after a privacy consultant said the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Consumer Protection and the New York Attorney General's office had expressed reservations about the way the sale would transfer personal information.