Medical instrument company may buy Biddeford Textile

BIDDEFORD – Biddeford Textile, the bankrupt electric blanket maker, would get a new owner, a new name and a new factory by spring under a deal up for a federal judge’s consideration.

The proposed purchase by a group led by Taiwan-based Microlife Corp. would include Portland investor Michael Liberty and possibly up to three other parties negotiating with Microlife, said Morten Brunvoll, group vice president of sales and marketing for the company.

Microlife, a distributor of thermometers and other medical instruments, would control 51 percent of the joint venture, with Brunvoll serving as chief executive officer.

The new company would be called Biddeford Acquisition and would do business as Biddeford Blankets after acquiring the assets of Biddeford Textile. Brunvoll said the purchase price has not yet been set.

The company’s troubles became evident in February when paychecks began bouncing and 350 workers – or 93 percent of its work force – was laid off.

Biddeford Textile blamed its financial woes on Sunbeam Corp., its former owner, for allegedly reneging on a contract to buy more than $500,000 worth of product.

In March, Biddeford Textile filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.