Borders seeks OK to liquidate

, Globe staff and wire services

There will be no storybook ending for Borders. As early as Friday, the 40-year-old book seller could start liquidating its 399 stores, including 15 locations in Massachusetts.

The Ann Arbor, Mich.-based chain is seeking court approval to liquidate after it failed to receive any bids that would keep it in business. The move adds Borders to the list of retailers that have failed to adapt to changing consumers’ shopping habits and survive the economic downturn, including Circuit City Stores Inc., Blockbuster, and Linens ‘N Things.

On Thursday, Borders is expected to ask the Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of New York at a hearing to allow it to be sold to liquidators led by Hilco Merchant Resources and Gordon Brothers Group of Boston. If the judge approves the move, liquidation sales could start as soon as Friday; the company could go out of business by the end of September.

Liquidators will also dispose of the lease agreements Borders had with its landlords. DJM Realty, a unit of Gordon Brothers, will auction off the leases for Borders locations in two rounds, scheduled for August and September, according to DJM copresident Andrew Graiser.

“We are in the middle of a having a lot of conversations with retailers, and some landlords wanted their spaces back,” Graiser said. “It’s early, but there’s certainly some good interest in a number of these locations.”

Among the leases to hit the auction block is the one for the store at Downtown Crossing, the largest Borders store in the nation. Also to be auctioned off are leases for stores in the CambridgeSide Galleria, Legacy Place in Dedham, Mansfield Crossing, Marlborough, Methuen, North Attleborough, and Kingston.

Borders’ attempt to stay in business unraveled quickly last week, after a $215 million ‘‘white knight’’ bid by private equity firm Najafi Cos. dissolved under objections from creditors and lenders. They argued the chain would be worth more if it liquidated immediately.

‘‘We were all working hard toward a different outcome, but the headwinds we have been facing for quite some time, including the rapidly changing book industry, e-reader revolution, and turbulent economy, have brought us to where we are now,’’ Borders Group president Mike Edwards said in a statement.

Borders liquidation could have far-reaching effects, putting thousands of people out of work. The chain currently has 10,700 employees.

Perhaps a Borders liquidation would hurt the consumer most. Tanya Ellis, 42, of Southfield, Mich., said the closings are ‘‘horrible.’’ She said she and a friend would stop at a nearby Starbucks, then visit the Borders store in Beverly Hills, Mich., and browse for about an hour.

‘‘So where are we going to buy books from? I just got into reading books the last two or three years, and they just keep closing all these bookstores,’’ she said, adding that electronic readers aren’t an option for her. ‘‘It takes all the fun out of it.’’

Globe correspondent Kaivan Mangouri contributed to this report.