NEW YORK (AP) – An attorney for J.C. Penney told a bankruptcy judge Wednesday that the company is going forward with a sale of its business and expects the deal to be completed by the fall.

The potential sale comes as Plano, Texas-based Penney is looking at three bidders, which the company hasn’t named.

During an address in bankruptcy court, Joshua Sussberg, an attorney at Kirkland & Ellis, lambasted an article published earlier this week by The New York Post that reported a $1.75 billion bid from Sycamore Partners to buy Penney and merge with another struggling chain Belk Inc.

He called the report “ill-informed.” The 118-year-old company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in mid-May, marking the biggest retailer to buckle under the financial fallout from the coronavirus.

Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. PHOTO AP