The ruling opens the door for AB Dick (US) to come out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy by mid November, having filed for the status on 13 July.

Offers for the company have now been invited of more than 23m, some 700,000 over the price that Presstek agreed to pay when AB Dick (US) went into Chapter 11.

The court did not set a date for a hearing to obtain court approval of the highest offer, but AB Dick (US) expects the hearing to take place in early November.

AB Dick (US) vice president marketing Scott MacKenzie said that Presstek may come up against bids from other interested investors, but that he was unaware of who may be in the running.

Presstek chief executive Ed Marino said: "We are quite sure we've got a competitive offer here so we're not going to spend a lot of time thinking about it.

He added: "Our interest in this is very clear. We'd like to look back two years from now and say that AB Dick is much better with Presstek now than it was two years ago."

He said that if Presstek won the auction, funding would come from cash on hand at the company and bank lines.

AB Dick (UK) is a separate financial entity and will not be directly affected by the ruling. UK managing director Quen Baum said: "I've just come back from the United States and the company was in good shape, with good sales and in high spirits."

The US Bankruptcy Court of Delaware has also granted final approval for the company's 3.9m credit facility, provided by Presstek, which AB Dick (US) needs to continue trading until the sale at the end of October.

Story by Josh Brooks