A federal bankruptcy court judge approved the $760 million sale of a majority stake in Toys R Us Asia to senior investors, potentially clearing the way for expansion.

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Keith Phillips, Fairfax, VA, approved a sale that values Toys R Us’ Asian operations at about $900 million and allows Li & Fung affiliate Fung Retailing to increase its stake in the retailer to 21% from 15%. The remainder of the chain is controlled by the Taj noteholders consortium. Fung and Toys R Us originally formed the Asian joint venture in 1986. The companies in late November settled a dispute stemming from the auction of the joint venture, paving the way for the sale.

The new owners of Toys R Us Asia unveiled plans in November to expand the chain rapidly throughout China and Japan.  Fung Retailing and the consortium plan to open 68 stores, largely across China and Japan, in 2019. Consortium executives have said the Asian business had been self-funded and didn’t rely on the U.S. operations for financial support. It posted sales of $375 million in China and Southeast Asia in the year ended in January 2017, up from $365 million the previous year, according to court documents.

Toys R Us operates about 400 stores in Asia with Fung Retailing. That encompasses about 160 locations in Hong Kong, China and Taiwan and another 130 in Southeast Asia, including those in Brunei, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. In Macau and Philippines, licensees operate more than 80 locations. The new owners are weighing expanding into Vietnam and Indonesia

The sale signals a further breakup of the once global retailer, which filed for bankruptcy in September 2017 and liquidated earlier this year.

Toys R Us closed its U.S. stores, but a group of 10 hedge funds emerged earlier this fall to buy the U.S. assets, including the Toys R Us and Babies R Us names and rights to the mascot Geoffrey the Giraffe and licensed brands such as Imaginarium. The hedge fund group has largely been silent on plans, although Geoffrey Toy Box pop-up stores were installed at 600 Kroger locations this fall featuring several Toys R Us brands, including Journey Girls and Imaginarium.

In international markets, Toys R Us Canada reopened with 80 stores with the financial backing of Fairfax Financial Group. And in Europe, Ireland-based Smyths Toys purchased 93 Toys R Us stores in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.