For sale.

A U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge ordered last week that nearly all of J.M. Products Inc.'s assets can be sold on Thursday, Oct. 29.

J.M. Products of Little Rock, which is one of the largest manufacturers and distributors of ethnic hair care products, filed for Chapter 11 protection in April. It reported more than $14.6 million in debt and $20.1 million in assets.

The trustee who was assigned to the case in July said in court filings that it would be in the best interest of all the creditors to sell J.M.'s assets as quickly as possible.

(If you recall, one of J.M.'s largest creditors, Bank of America, had demanded a trustee be installed, citing what it called J.M.'s mismanagement.)

J.M. "has experienced declining sales and inadequate cash flow to sustain its business operations," the trustee, Alex Moglia, said in the filing.

A sale now might save jobs at J.M. and prevent adding debt if the company doesn't survive, Moglia said.

Moglia also said some potential buyers are interested in J.M. One of them, American International Industries Inc. of Kemah, Texas, has already submitted a letter of intent, Moglia wrote.

Among J.M.'s key assets are two manufacturing plants that have more than 300,000 SF of production space, equipment, J.M.'s name and trademarks. J.M. distributes more than 80 products to hundreds of stores across the country.

Judge James Mixon agreed with Moglia and ordered the sale.

The auction is set to take place at the offices of Holland & Knight LLP in Chicago at 10 a.m., or another location and time determined by the trustee.

Michael Joshua, the president of the company, couldn't be reached for comment.

Joshua is the son of the late Ernest Joshua Sr., who founded the company in the early 1970s and ended up in the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame.

J.M. struggled after Ernest Joshua's death in 2005. It lost $1.08 million in 2007 and $769,000 in 2008. So far this year through Sept. 30, J.M. has reported a loss of nearly $845,000.