The staffing arm of defunct Hollywood services firm Axium International Inc. was sold at auction Wednesday to MPS Group Inc. for $8.1 million, a spokeswoman said.

Bidding for the division, called Ensemble Chimes Global, closed out Wednesday afternoon, Diana Torralvo said. Starting bids were expected to be around $7.5 million.

“In light of the fact that the business was completely shut down two weeks ago, the sale of the assets for this price will be very beneficial for the creditors of the bankruptcy estate,” Howard Ehrenberg, the court-appointed trustee of Axium and a partner at SulmeyerKupetz law firm.

Assets sold to the Jacksonville, Fla.-based staffing firm included Ensemble’s proprietary software program, RightsMax, as well as other intellectual property, customer contracts and property leases.

Axium bought Ensemble Chimes Global last February for $80 million, the firm employs approximately 3,000 people.

Axium filed for Chapter 7 liquidation earlier this month. It processed payrolls and provided related services to production companies, studios, trade unions and other entertainment industry clients.

In court documents filed after the company shut down, two executives of Axium were accused of looting the company through lavish spending on luxury cars, personal travel and a generous consulting contract for swimwear model Amber Smith.