Noble International Limited told a judge that private equity firm Patriarch Partners LLC agreed to buy the company for USD 11 million in a deal subject to competing bids at an auction.

According to a May 1st 2009 filing in US Bankruptcy Court in Detroit, Noble wants New York based Patriarch to be named as the so called stalking horse bidder at an auction that hasn’t yet been scheduled.

Noble said that "The debtors intend to aggressively solicit additional potential purchasers."

Patriarch reached the agreement about two weeks after its USD 88 million bid for bankrupt photography firm Polaroid Corporation was rejected by a judge. The court instead approved an offer from a joint venture of two liquidation firms, Hilco Consumer Capital LP and Gordon Brothers Brands LLC. Patriarch is appealing.

It may be noted that Noble listed assets of USD 190.8 million against debt of USD 38.7 million in a Chapter 11 petition filed April 15th 2009. The filing came amid falling demand in the US recession that led to last week’s bankruptcy filing of US carmaker Chrysler LLC.

(Sourced from www.bloomberg.net)