Dick's Wins Sports Authority Brand Name in Auction

Dick's Sporting Goods Inc. prevailed at the auction for Sports Authority Holdings Inc.'s brand name and other intellectual property with a bid of $15 million, people familiar with the situation said Thursday.

At an auction that started Wednesday, the fellow sporting goods competitor beat out British retailer Sports Direct International PLC, which came in second place at the auction with a $13 million bid, one of the people said.

In addition to the intellectual property, Dick's also won 31 Sports Authority store leases for $8 million, the same person added. Other store leases were also sold at the auction.

Dick's, Sports Authority and Sports Direct representatives didn't immediately respond to comment.

The auction, which was run by Hilco Streambank, went past midnight, the people added. All winning bids are subject to the approval of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., which is overseeing Sports Authority's chapter 11 case.

There was a point early last week when it looked as though Sports Direct and New York-based retailer Modell's Inc. would team up to buy 100 to 200 stores, but the talks fell through before the June 23 bid deadline, people close to the situation had told The Wall Street Journal.

Sports Authority is also selling its naming rights at Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver, home to the Denver Broncos football team, in its bankruptcy. The stadium-naming rights were to have gone on the auction block Wednesday but remain available. People familiar with the matter say talks are under way to extending the bid deadline.

Sports Authority's liquidation sales, which are being conducted by Hilco, Gordon Brothers Retail Partners LLC, and Tiger Capital Group LLC, at its 450 stores have been under way since Memorial Day weekend. The going-out-of-business sales are expected to be completed by the end of July.

Sports Authority filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March with more than $1 billion in debt.

Write to Lillian Rizzo at Lillian.Rizzo@wsj.com