July 13 (Bloomberg) -- Eddie Bauer Holdings Inc., the U.S. outdoor-clothing chain that filed for bankruptcy last month, may draw bids from Iconix Brand Group Inc., owner of the Rocawear brand, and private-equity firm Golden Gate Capital, according to people with knowledge of the process.

Hilco Consumer Capital and Gordon Brothers Group LLC are also preparing a joint offer for the retailer, according to the people, who declined to be identified because the discussions aren’t public. Hudson Capital Partners LLC may make or participate in one of the bids, the people said.

The deadline for bids is tomorrow, the people said, and an auction for Eddie Bauer’s assets is scheduled for July 16. CCMP Capital Advisors LLC, a New York-based private equity firm, offered an initial $202 million last month in a so-called stalking horse bid, meaning CCMP agreed to buy the company should no other bidders top its offer at the proposed auction.

Eddie Bauer, Golden Gate, Hilco and Gordon Brothers representatives declined to comment. Representatives for Iconix and Hudson Capital Partners didn’t return calls for comment.

Bellevue, Washington-based Eddie Bauer has about 370 stores in the U.S. and Canada. The retailer opened its first sporting goods store in Seattle in 1920 and posted annual losses for the past three years. It emerged as an independent company in 2005, two years after parent Spiegel Inc. filed for bankruptcy. General Mills Inc. owned the company from 1971 until 1988.

$100 Million Loan

The company won court permission last week to borrow $100 million to help finance operations while it sells itself at an auction. The loan is being made by the company’s existing lenders, Bank of America N.A., GE Capital Corp. and CIT Group/Business Credit Inc. The money, along with cash being held as collateral for its lenders, will be used to pay employees, suppliers and other key creditors, the company said.

Management changes, too many stores, and a shift away from outdoor gear and apparel led to the retailer’s filing, according to George Whalin, president of Retail Management Consultants in Carlsbad, California. Bidders may be attracted by the opportunity to take over valuable real estate and make the brand viable again, he said.

Well-Known Brand

“The brand is certainly as well known as any apparel brand there is,” Whalin said in a July 10 telephone interview. There is also a “very real” possibility that a liquidator could purchase the company and sell off its assets, he said.

CCMP would operate Eddie Bauer as a going concern, the retailer said in June. The private-equity firm has invested in retailers including outdoor-chain Cabela’s Inc. and Guitar Center Inc.

Iconix, based in New York, owns and licenses consumer brands including Danskin, London Fog and Rocawear, the clothing collection co-founded by Shawn “Jay Z” Carter.

Golden Gate, based in San Francisco, has bought or invested in more than a dozen consumer brands in the past five years. Last month, it agreed to acquire the J. Jill unit of Talbots Inc. for about $75 million.

Gordon Brothers and Hilco successfully teamed up this year to bid about $88 million for Polaroid Corp., the bankrupt Minnetonka, Minnesota-based company that introduced instant photography.

Peter J. Solomon Co. is advising Eddie Bauer.

To contact the reporters on this story: Lauren Coleman-Lochner in New York at llochner@bloomberg.net; Jonathan Keehner in New York jkeehner@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: July 13, 2009 15:25 EDT