An Ontario court has approved a sales process and stalking horse bid for Red Lobster Canada’s assets as the company seeks to emerge from creditor protection, the Canadian Press reported.

The move corresponds to a U.S. court approval of the sales process for Red Lobster’s parent company, which launched Chapter 11 bankruptcy-protection proceedings in May. At that time, an Ontario court judge recognized the U.S. legal action in Canada, protecting the Canadian business from creditors.

Under a stalking horse bid situation, the company chooses a bid from a pool of bidders in order to set the minimum bid prior to an auction, according to Investopedia.

The move is designed to enable creditors to maximize the struggling company’s assets, CP reported.

In May, Judge Michael Penny granted a request for the order from lawyers representing the financially troubled seafood chain’s Canadian business.

The order prevents creditors from seizing Red Lobster’s Canadian assets in order to recoup outstanding debts.

The Florida-based parent firm announced in May that it intends to use the proceedings to “pursue a sale of substantially all of its assets as a going concern.”

Red Lobster expanded into Canada in 1983. The firm’s Canadian subsidiary has 2,000 mostly part-time and non-unionized Canadian employees, CP reported.

Red Lobster Canada operates 27 locations in Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

All but two of the chain’s Canadian properties are leased, while two in Brantford, Ont., and Toronto’s Etobicoke area are owned. The company owns the Etobicoke location’s building, but not the land, according to CP.

Jonathan Tibus, a U.S.-based managing director with restructuring advisory firm Alvarez & Marsal, is serving as Red Lobster’s CEO during the asset sell-off.

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