Grey’s Anatomy actor Patrick Dempsey is the winning bidder for TC Global Inc., which does business as Tully’s Coffee, after a Jan. 3 bankruptcy auction, according to debtor counsel.

Global Baristas LLC, a company owned by Dempsey, was reportedly the winning bidder for the coffee maker, with a $9.15 million bid. Judge Karen A. Overstreet of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Washington in Seattle will preside over a sale hearing, where Tully’s will seek approval of Global Baristas’ bid, on Jan. 11, according to Jim Day of Bush Strout & Kornfeld LLP, who represents Tully’s.

Starbucks Corp. (Nasdaq: SBUX) and Baristas Coffee, which operates a drive-thru coffee business with scantily-clad baristas, were also bidders.

Overstreet approved Tully’s bidding procedures, with finance group Kachi Partners in place as the stalking horse bidder, on Dec. 10. Competing bids had to be at least $1.5 million, plus $250,000 in escrow, with a $150,000 deposit. Bidders also had to agree to assume certain liabilities. Kachi could receive up to $200,000 as a break-up fee, court documents show.

Tully’s sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Oct. 10, listing between $1 million and $10 million in both assets and liabilities. The bankruptcy case didn’t affect wholesale or online Tully’s Coffee business because it was purchased by Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. in 2009.

The chain operates 47 company-owned stores in Washington and California. 

Food and beverage industry Restructuring