MILWAUKEE — The Bon-Ton Stores, which operates 260 department stores in the U.S., is expected to go out of businesses after two liquidation firms became the highest bidders at an auction for the bankrupt company's assets Tuesday.

A bankruptcy court hearing was scheduled Wednesday to approve the sale and liquidation details, but a statement from the company's CEO suggested the end for The Bon-Ton Stores is certain.

“While we are disappointed by this outcome and tried very hard to identify bidders interested in operating the business as a going concern, we are committed to working constructively with the winning bidder to ensure an orderly wind-down of operations,” said President and CEO Bill Tracy.

The 160-year-old company survived economic recessions and depressions, but it couldn't survive the shift toward e-commerce, led by Amazon.com.