Instead of seeking a last-minute buyer, Borders Group has abandoned its search for a suitor and will ask a judge to approve a sale to liquidators.

The process could begin as early as Friday and conclude in September. On Sunday, a significant deadline passed in the bookseller’s efforts to find a buyer without success.

In a written release, Borders Group president Mike Edwards expressed sadness of the pending sale to Hilco and Gordon Brothers.

“We were all working hard towards a different outcome, but the headwinds we have been facing for quite some time, including the rapidly changing book industry, eReader revolution, and turbulent economy, have brought us to where we are now,” he said.

Borders employs approximately 400 workers at its Ann Arbor, Mich. headquarters and more than 11,000 overall.