Apparel retailer Express Inc's bankruptcy buyout gets court approval

(Reuters) - Phoenix Retail, a new online retailing venture, will acquire most assets of Express Inc, a court document showed, less than two months after the apparel retailer filed for bankruptcy.

Phoenix, a joint venture among equity investor WHP Global and mall owners Simon Property Group and Brookfield Properties, on Friday received approval from a bankruptcy court in Delaware to acquire most of the assets of the embattled apparel retailer out of bankruptcy.

Express did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The company has about 530 Express Retail and Express Factory Outlet stores combined in the United States and Puerto Rico, according to its website.

Express, which also owns the Bonobos and UpWest brands, had filed for bankruptcy in April and listed assets and liabilities in the range of $1 billion to $10 billion.

It entered bankruptcy with about $189 million in funded debt and said the largest factor in its bankruptcy was the long-term decline in foot traffic at U.S. shopping malls.

(Reporting by Juveria Tabassum; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)