June 14 (Reuters) - Phoenix Retail, a new online

retailing venture, will acquire most assets of Express Inc ( EXPRQ ), a

court document showed, less than two months after the apparel

retailer filed for bankruptcy.

Phoenix, a joint venture among equity investor WHP Global

and mall owners Simon Property Group ( SPG ) and Brookfield

Properties, on Friday received approval from a bankruptcy court

in Delaware to acquire most of the assets of the embattled

apparel retailer out of bankruptcy.

Express did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for

comment.

The company has about 530 Express Retail and Express Factory

Outlet stores combined in the United States and Puerto Rico,

according to its website.

Express, which also owns the Bonobos and UpWest brands, had

filed for bankruptcy in April and listed assets and liabilities

in the range of $1 billion to $10 billion.

It entered bankruptcy with about $189 million in funded debt

and said the largest factor in its bankruptcy was the long-term

decline in foot traffic at U.S. shopping malls.