By order of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, the assets of mass-market confectioner Sherwood Brands, Inc. and its affiliates will be liquidated through auctions. The intellectual property, inventory, machinery and equipment, and related items are being auctioned on February 29 by Tiger Group’s Remarketing Services Division, while real estate specialists Tranzon Fox will be handling the auction of the company’s manufacturing plant in Chase City, VA and distribution center in Keysville, VA.

The intellectual property includes trademarks, domain names, customer lists and product designs associated with such popular brands as Asher Candy Canes, Cows, Wanderfalls and Fruitburst.

While the company had moved its manufacturing operations overseas, its Virginia facilities continued to house former manufacturing equipment, as well as packaging equipment used to process and package its confectionary products, seasonal gift sets and general merchandise. In addition to manufacturing, plant support and material handling equipment, the auction sale will include Sherwood’s component inventory, which includes plush animals, mugs, toys, as well as finished chocolate and hard candy goods.

Once a major producer of niche-market candies and confections, and a primary U.S. manufacturer of seasonal candies and gift baskets, Sherwood Brands, Inc., and its affiliates, eventually succumbed to the effects of challenging economy. This led to a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing for the formerly publicly traded company that generated annual sales in excess of $50 million and employed approximately 600 people.

As a result of the filing, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Greenbelt, MD ordered the liquidation of some of the most valuable assets of a brand that once sold its wares on the shelves of such major retailers as Walgreens, CVS, Rite-Aid, Kroger, Winn-Dixie, Safeway, Wal-Mart, K-mart and Target.

“When a company like this falls, there is much lost by employees and the business community it touches; however, out of the ashes come many opportunities for buyers,” said Jeff Tanenbaum, president of Tiger Remarketing Services. “This sale is no exception, with assets being auctioned ranging from confectionary and packaging equipment, to gift and candy related products, to real estate, trademarks, office equipment and so much more.”

Tiger Remarketing Services and its affiliates at Tiger Group provide advisory, restructuring, valuation, disposition and auction services within a broad range of retail, wholesale, and industrial sectors.

Tranzon Fox is a full-service auction and real estate disposition company.