THQ's individual titles, studios up for bids

THQ's private equity investor has agreed to hear bids on the publisher's individual assets including titles and studios, VentureBeat reports. Piecemeal sales of the company's properties, which include the popular Saints Row series and its developer Volition, would likely generate more cash than the previously planned $60 million all-in-one sale.

Electronic Arts has already completed site visits to THQ's various developers and offices to judge interest in potential acquisitions, according to Distressed Debt Investing. Both Warner Bros. and Ubisoft have also publicly expressed interest in the troubled publisher's assets.

THQ's attempt to quickly sell its assets to Clearlake Capital Group through Chapter 11 bankruptcy was blocked last week. A Delaware judge ruled that the publisher's proposed sale process did not give potential bidders enough time to participate, Bloomberg reports.

“I have problems concluding that the pre-petition sale process was fulsome,” U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Mary F. Walrath said at the hearing. She noted that THQ "did not even put out to the public that it was for sale” until interested parties signed non-disclosure agreements.

Walwrath said she was unconvinced that the sale had to occur by January 15. THQ's creditors, whose objection spurred the ruling, want another three weeks.

UPDATE: The auction for THQ's assets will commence on January 22, allowing for piecemeal sales of the publisher's assets, according to DDI.