The Borders brand name and website were sold in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy auction process, a liquidation firm announced today.

Hilco Streambank, a division of Borders liquidator Hilco Trading LLC, said it had raised $15.775 million from a sale of Borders' intellectual property.

Buyers of various Borders assets included competitor Barnes & Noble, according to a news release.

According to Hilco's statement, bidders bought the Borders and Waldenbooks brand names, Borders.com and other assets.

But it was not immediately clear which buyers acquired the brand names and website. Hilco Streambank representatives did not respond to AnnArbor.com requests seeking more details today.

The Borders website and brand were considered particularly valuable assets. Although online sales accounted for only about 3 percent of Borders' revenue when the company filed for bankruptcy in February, the company gets millions of visitors a month to its site.

It's not unusual for a company's brand name and website to live on after its physical stores have closed. For example, electronics retailer Circuit City's website is now operated by another party after the company liquidated in 2009.

Revenues from Borders' IP auction, which was conducted Wednesday, will be distributed based on a prioritized list of Borders creditors according to bankruptcy code.

Hilco said 10 bidders competed for Borders assets in the auction, which lasted more than 50 rounds. Bidders included publishers and online retailers.

"We are very pleased with the successful auction. The participants clearly recognized the significant strategic value in the Borders name and other assets linked to the Borders customer base, and the Borders estate benefited as a result," Borders Group Inc. CEO Holly Etlin said in a statement. Etlin is an AlixPartners executive temporarily serving as CEO of Borders Group while the company finishes its liquidation.

Contact AnnArbor.com's Nathan Bomey at (734) 623-2587 or nathanbomey@annarbor.com. You can also follow him on Twitter or subscribe to AnnArbor.com's newsletters.