German media giant Bertelsmann has long expressed an interest in buying Napster’s assets. It recently upped its bid by $9 million, bringing its total bid to over $100 million. However, included in that figure is the sum of $85 million in debts owed by Napster to Bertelsmann.
It is possible that the bankruptcy judge will disregard some or all of the $85 million debt in which case Bertelsmann’s success at auction is far from guaranteed.