Girls Gone Wild Auction Called Off; No Competing Overbids

LOS ANGELES — An auction to sell off the Girls Gone Wild franchise's assets was called off last week because there were no qualified overbids submitted to the bankruptcy trustee.

In February, bankruptcy trustee R. Todd Neilson secured a stalking horse bid for $1.825 million to purchase the brand's assets, including its trademarks, domain names and litigation rights, as well as its assumed liabilities. The stalking horse bidder was an unidentified entity that put up a good-faith cash deposit of $250,000.

With the pre-arranged bid in place, the trustee had planned to drive up the purchase price of the franchise with competing bids to help pay off Girls Gone Wild's Chapter 11 claims.

But with no other qualified bids of $1.925 million — the minimum required for the auction to go on as scheduled on Friday — the auction was canceled.

Now, it is uncertain whether the stalking horse bidder will go through with the purchase agreement. A bankruptcy judge next week will consider the next step for the sale of assets.

The bankruptcy court green lighted the auction in February, approving the bidding procedures and break-up fee.

Neilson in February said he encountered several difficulties in finding a suitable buyer out of an initial 16 potential buyers, 12 of whom entered into nondisclosure agreements and received identical due diligence materials containing the debtors’ confidential financial information.

"First, the debtors are in a specialized business," Neilson noted at the time. "Several potential buyers either had moral objections to the business or concerns that they did not understand how to operate an adult entertainment business.

"Second, at least one potential buyer expressed his concern that, although the debtors were profitable in 2013, they may not be profitable in future years due to a perceived general decline in the adult entertainment industry. Finally, some buyers expressed reservations about buying the debtors’ assets, given its previous management."

Founded by Joe Francis in 1997, Girls Gone Wild's portfolio includes more than a dozen trademark and 69 websites.

Girls Gone Wild's U.S. trademarks, some multiple trademarks for various products, include Girls Gone Wild, Banned From Television, Gone Wild, Girls Gone Mobile, Guys Gone Wild and Mantra. The franchise also includes foreign trademarks for Girls Gone Wild, Banned From Television and Guys Gone Wild in Canada, New Zealand and France.

GGW Brands, one of the company's divisions, filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February 2013. At the time of filing, the company claimed it had less than $50,000 in assets. It currently maintains about 25 employees at its Westwood, Calif., offices.

Neilson could not be reached for comment by XBIZ.

View GGW/stalking horse bidder purchase agreement

Related:  

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Lyric Sky Returns to Brazzers

Lyric Sky stars with Lawson Jones in the latest release from Brazzers.

OurDream.ai Debuts New Porn Generator

OurDream.ai, an AI porn-generating platform, has launched an upgraded version of its AI engine.

Andie Anderson Makes Her MILFY Debut

Andie Anderson has made her debut for Vixen Media Group studio imprint MILFY, alongside Isiah Maxwell and Hollywood Cash.

AEBN Publishes Popular Searches by Country for February, March

AEBN has released the list of popular searches from its straight and gay theaters by country in February and March.

Peachy Alice Fronts Latest From Immoral Productions

Peachy Alice stars in a new trilogy from Immoral Productions, alongside Charlie Dean, Matt Bird, and studio honcho “Porno Dan” Leal.

Jessi Rae Signs Exclusive Contract With Vixen Media Group

Vixen Media Group (VMG) has signed Jessi Rae to an exclusive contract.

BranditScan Launches 'Referral Rush' Promo

BranditScan has launched its Referral Rush promotion for creators.

Pure Taboo Debuts Bree Mills Thriller 'The Party's Over'

Hazel Moore stars with Liz Jordan and Hailey Rose in the latest thriller from Pure Taboo, titled “The Party’s Over.”

Athena Heart Stars in Latest From TeamSkeet

Athena Heart stars with Jason Sarcinelli, Axel Haze, and Nick Strokes in the latest release from TeamSkeet.

Violet Myers, Valentina Nappi Star in Latest From Brazzers

2025 XMAs Premium Social Creator of the Year Violet Myers stars with Valentina Nappi and Ricky Johnson in the latest release from Brazzers, titled “V and V Share a Big D.”

Show More