Following an all-day auction at the offices of a Delaware law firm, Food52 is entering its next chapter. A month after issuing mass layoffs and filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the company has been split into its component pieces and sold to three separate bidders.

Food52 itself went to stalking horse bidder America’s Test Kitchen, which acquired the company for $9.9 million, plus the assumption of some liabilities. Oregon-based whole home brand Schoolhouse was purchased by Troy-CSL, a division of the Hudson Valley Lighting Group, for $2.2 million. Dansk, the heritage tabletop brand, was sold to design licensing agency Form Portfolios for $250,000.

“It was an intense process to go from a bank sweep during the holidays to a successful auction yesterday,” Food52 CEO Erika Ayers Badan tells Business of Home. “Food52 was fortunate to have a strong team around it and within it during this time. I’m hopeful for and excited to see America’s Test Kitchen, Hudson Valley Group and Form Portfolios cherish these brands, serve their customers and take them into the future.”

In the event that the winning bids don’t go through, Food52’s backup bidder is Static Media; Schoolhouse’s is CSC Generation. The total value of the auction is almost double the original stalking horse bid of $6.5 million, but it is a fraction of the $300 million valuation the company received in 2021 following two rounds of investment by private equity firm The Chernin Group. Over the course of its ownership, TCG poured a reported $163 million into Food52 to help build a digital-first competitor to Williams-Sonoma. Now, the sale cleaves the fate of the three brands.

America’s Test Kitchen—the Boston-based food media group that produces a show of the same name in addition to the publication Cook’s Illustrated—will take over Food52. Though Food52 has seen significant revenue declines in the years leading up to the layoffs and bankruptcy, the site has remained functional, and it boasts millions of followers across its social channels.

“We are delighted at the opportunity to acquire the Food52 brand assets and to grow this iconic brand that audiences love,” said America’s Test Kitchen CEO Daniel Suratt in a December press release announcing the original stalking horse bid. “We believe Food52 remains a singular media property with a strong legacy and we are excited to build on that to continue to serve Food52 fans."

Hudson Valley Lighting Group’s winning bid for Schoolhouse comes on the heels of its 2025 purchase of Sonneman for an undisclosed price. The Wappingers Falls, New York–based company, founded in 1985 by entrepreneur David Littman, has grown several times through acquisition—its full portfolio of brands also includes Troy Lighting, Corbett Lighting, Mitzi and CSL. As for Schoolhouse itself, the vast majority of the company’s remaining employees were laid off in December, and its Portland headquarters was put on the market in May of last year.

Form Portfolios is a unique company. Founded in 2016 by former private equity manager Mark Masiello, its business model is to acquire, manage and license the IP of iconic midcentury designers. Form has been behind several high-profile retail releases over the past five years, including CB2’s reissues of pieces by Paul McCobb and Crate & Barrel’s Lucia Eames line.

Prior to acquiring Dansk, Form Portfolios was embroiled in litigation with Food52 over a licensing agreement concerning the use of designs by Scandinavian designer Jens Quistgaard. Just days before the auction, Masiello’s company issued a legal filing objecting to the sale of Dansk. Now it owns Dansk.

The auction closes the book on a saga that began in 2019 when TCG acquired a majority stake in Food52 for $83 million. Between then and now, founders Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs both left the company; former West Elm president Alex Bellos had a short tenure as CEO; Schoolhouse CEO Sara Fritsch parted ways with the company; and Badan, the former CEO of Barstool Sports, was brought on after several rounds of layoffs.

On a recent appearance on The Grill Room, Puck’s media podcast, Badan pointed to a wide variety of issues plaguing Food52, from the end of the Covid home boom to an antiquated tech stack to the lack of synergy between the flagship brand and Schoolhouse. “I don’t think there was one mistake,” she told host Dylan Byers. “I think there [were] 500 mistakes.”