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GREENSBORO — VF Corp. has failed in its bid to buy Eddie Bauer, the bankrupt retailer known for its outdoor clothing.

The Bellevue, Wash., company said today that Golden Gate Capital, a San Francisco-based private equity firm, had entered a bid of $286 million in a bankruptcy auction which began Thursday in New York.

Eddie Bauer, which filed for bankruptcy last month, called Golden Gate’s all-cash bid “the best and highest offer.”

VF would not confirm that it had entered the bidding, which ended at 2:30 a.m. today. But an attorney involved in the process said the Greensboro-based apparel giant wanted to buy Eddie Bauer’s brand name, trademark and Web site, but not its 371 stores.

In a statement, Eddie Bauer said Golden Gate’s bid would keep “the substantial majority” of the stores open under a newly formed company. Eddie Bauer has stores in Greensboro’s Friendly Center and in Burlington and Winston-Salem

Eddie Bauer, which filed for bankruptcy last month, will submit the proposed offer to the bankruptcy court in Delaware for approval Wednesday.

“Nothing is 'final’ until the judge says so,” said David L. Pollack, a Philadelphia bankruptcy attorney who represents shopping centers where Eddie Bauer operates stores.

Eddie Bauer said the sale is likely to close in early August if approved by the court.

The company did not identify the other bidders. The amount of VF’s bid could not be determined.

Efforts to reach a VF spokesperson for response were unsuccessful.

VF did confirm Thursday that it had notified the bankruptcy court that it wanted to be a “party of interest,” which would allow the company to receive information on the case.

Contact Donald W. Patterson at 373-7027 or don.patterson@news-record.com.