Blockbuster to Auction Assets With Revised $290 Million Bid

Bankrupt Blockbuster Inc., once the world’s largest movie-rental chain, can auction itself with a newly revised $290 million bid from hedge funds and avoid immediate liquidation, a judge ruled.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Burton Lifland in Manhattan said in court today he will approve the sale proposal to a group of lenders including Monarch Alternative Capital LP, even as he said the company is so deeply insolvent it may not be able to repay its highest priority creditors. The company said the deal will save 22,000 jobs.