Yellow appears set to raise at least $1.88 billion from a bankruptcy court sale of most of its truck terminals in the U.S. and Canada, a sign of demand for a property type that can provide its owners with a competitive advantage.

A group of 21 bidders were named the proposed winners to acquire 128 terminals owned by Yellow and two leases, according to a document filed Monday night in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The winning bids still require court approval. XPO and Estes Express Lines were the two leading bidders measured by the financial value of their bids.

Yellow collapsed in late July after financial pressures caused by elevated debt levels and disputes with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which represented thousands of Yellow employees. Yellow, based in Nashville, Tennessee, put more than 170 truck terminals on the auction block to generate funds to pay off creditors.

For many trucking companies, “These terminals represent a once-in-a-generation opportunity for controlling market share,” Ted Morandin, a broker at Morprop Advisors who wasn't involved in the Yellow auction, told CoStar News. “They are willing to pay a premium for those advantages.”

XPO, based in Greenwich, Connecticut, won the right to acquire 26 terminals and two leased properties for $870 million. Its winning bids included terminals in the Atlanta, Houston, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, New York, St. Louis and Washington, D.C., markets. XPO, one of the largest less-than-truckload carriers in the U.S., obtained a bridge loan for up to $870 million from Credit Agricole to finance the acquisitions, according to a regulatory filing.

Less-than-truckload carriers like XPO and Yellow haul freight from more than one customer on a single truck trailer. This segment of the trucking industry uses cross-docking terminals as a way to distribute freight throughout different regions.

Estes, based in Richmond, Virginia, nabbed 24 terminals for a total of $248.7 million. Estes had been the court-appointed lead bidder with a $1.525 billion offer for the entire Yellow portfolio of owned terminals.

Estes' proposed winning bids from the Monday filing include properties in Austin, Texas; Cleveland, Ohio; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Syracuse, New York.

Saia Motor Freight Line, based in Johns Creek, Georgia, won 17 terminals for a total purchase price of $235.7 million, including properties in Fresno, California; Duluth, Minnesota; and Laredo, Texas.

Yellow designated backup bidders for 18 terminals in the event the winning bidders cannot close the purchase, according to the court filing. In one example, Estes’ $33.5 million offer for a terminal at 2530 S. Tibbs Ave. in Indianapolis was the winning bid. But ArcBest Property Management was named the backup bidder with a $31.1 million offer.

Yellow is expected to disclose additional information about the property sales to the bankruptcy court on Wednesday. Yellow did not immediately respond to a request to comment from CoStar News.

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Craig Goldblatt scheduled a hearing for Dec. 12 to hear objections to the auction results. Goldblatt has not yet scheduled a date for announcing the confirmed winners.

Yellow said in the court filing that 46 terminals remain up for bid in the auction. The largest remaining unsold property is a 227,000-square-foot terminal at 2000 E. Lincoln Highway in the Chicago suburb of Lynwood, Illinois. The auction process is continuing for the remaining 46 unsold terminals.

Ducera Partners is Yellow’s investment banker on the auction. Kirkland & Ellis and Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones are legal counsel to Yellow. Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz is counsel to XPO. Whiteford, Taylor & Preston is counsel to Estes.