Hudson’s Bay to ask for court approval of Canadian Tire deal

If the deal gets the OK from Ontario’s Superior Court, Canadian Tire will be able to buy the rights to Hudson's Bay's intellectual property.

Hudson’s Bay is expected to return to court Tuesday morning to seek approval for a $30-million deal it signed with Canadian Tire Corp. Ltd.

If the deal gets the OK from Ontario’s Superior Court, Canadian Tire will be able to buy the rights to Hudson’s Bay’s intellectual property, which includes its name, its coat of arms and its iconic stripes.

Court documents have also shown the deal includes the Bay’s Distinctly Home brand, its Hudson North apparel line and trademarks like “Bay Days” and the Zellers catchphrase “lowest price is the law.”

The move to get approval for the Canadian Tire deal comes months after Canada’s oldest company filed for creditor protection and days after it closed all 96 of the stores it ran under its Bay and Saks banners on Sunday.

Hudson’s Bay has said the sale and closures were necessary because the 355-year-old company was not able to attract an investor to keep some semblance of the current business alive.

Canadian Tire wound up being the winner of the Bay’s trademarks after the company and its advisers invited 407 people and firms to bid on the intellectual property and other assets.

Adam Zalev, co-founder of Bay financial adviser Reflect Advisors, said in court documents that 17 bids were received. Thirteen were for intellectual property, but Canadian Tire’s was “superior to all other bids considered,” he said.

Hudson’s Bay is expected to ask for a document describing why it chose Canadian Tire to be sealed because it contains commercially sensitive information, including the amounts offered by the next highest bidders.