U.S. Trustee Probing Purchase Of PurchasePro

LAS VEGAS, NV— A U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge reportedly conditionally approved the sale of technology company PurchasePro.com Inc. here— at one time said to be valued at some$3.2 billion— to Perfect Commerce Inc. of Palo Alto, CA for $2.15 million. The sale, slated to be finalized by Jan. 8, is reportedly pending an investigation by the office of the U.S. Trustee, which is said to be monitoring the administration of PurchasePro’s bankruptcy. According to a story appearing in the Las Vegas Sun, Perfect Commerce— which had emerged as the “stalking horse” bidder with an initial cash bid of $2 million— outbid Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide. It was contended Scott Farrow, an attorney for the U.S. Trustee, said Starwood had entered a bid to buy PurchasePro for $2.05 million, but Perfect Commerce apparently then upped its initial bid by $150,000 to $2.15 million. Concerns reportedly emerged over whether there was collusive bidding between Perfect Commerce and Starwood after PurchasePro notified the bankruptcy court on Monday that the two bidders had begun negotiating an agreement for Starwood to buy exclusive licensing rights to certain PurchasePro software. SOURCE: Las Vegas Sun