Bidder objects to Men’s Wearhouse purchase of Filene’s

New York Crown FB LLC, which had bid on Filene's Basement assets in a bankruptcy auction, objected Tuesday to the naming of a Men's Wearhouse affiliate as the winner of the auction, the Associated Press reported.

Crown said in a court filing that the auction was "a sham."

If the auction result stands, the deal would unite the Men's Wearhouse and Filene's Basement.

A Crown attorney, Arthur Steinberg of King & Spalding LLP, said the Men's Wearhouse bid not only came in past the Wednesday deadline, but that it violated the bidding procedures set by the court at the start of the auction.

"The auction was supposed to be an asset sale, not a bid to fund a plan of reorganization," Steinberg said, referring to contingencies Men's Wearhouse included in its offer.

On Sunday, Filene's Basement announced that an affiliate of the Men's Wearhouse had won a nine-hour auction that took place Friday. The Men's Wearhouse affiliate offered to pay $67 million.

Crown had been the "stalking horse" bidder, which means it submitted the first bid that set the minimum for the court-run auction. It originally bid $22 million to buy the trade name and store leases, but not the inventory.