Items tagged with Bankruptcy
In the words of another group that was super popular in the 2000’s, Mad Catz is “going down, down in an earlier round”. After a rough year, the producer of unique gaming accessories and peripherals has filed for bankruptcy. According to Mad Catz representatives, “The Board of Directors made the decision to have the Company make a voluntary assignment in bankruptcy after considering various strategic alternatives, the interest of various stakeholders of the Company as well as a number of other factors.” Mad Catz filed for a “voluntary petition for relief under chapter 7 of U.S. Bankruptcy code” in order to start a liquidation of their assets on March 30th. All of their directors and officers have...
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Quirky, the ambitious invention platform startup that aims to help turn people's ideas into real products, and its affiliates have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the company announced in a blog post today. It's now looking to sell off substantially all of its assets, including its Wink smart home platform. The company may have already found a buyer for Wink. Flextronics International, which is a Wink partner and an unsecured creditor, has made an all-cash offer of $15 million. Quirky hasn't ruled out a sale at that price, though it's holding out for "higher or otherwise better offers," the company said. If bids are received, it will hold an auction for Wink. In the meantime, Quirky...
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Give RadioShack credit, the iconic electronics chain lasted nearly a century and survived part of the Internet era before ultimately filing for bankruptcy. However, the chain's impressive 94-year run doesn't give it a free pass to treat customer data like an asset, or so that's the stance the Federal Trade Commission is taking. The FTC sent a letter (PDF) to the court appointed consumer privacy ombudsman in RadioShack's case. In the letter, FTC direct Jessica L. Rich notes that RadioShack is in possession of personal information for over 117 million customers, information that includes names, addresses (billing and shipping), telephone numbers, email addresses, credit or debit card numbers, and...
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The RadioShack bankruptcy took a harder turn into ugly territory yesterday with Apple's filing of a complaint in a Delaware court. The move is intended to keep the once-prevalent hardware giant from selling their customer data, joining the states of Texas and Tennessee in their efforts to prevent the company from opening their customer information coffers to the highest bidder. The Apple complaint states that as a condition of the arrangement by which RadioShack was allowed to sell iPhones and iPads in its stores, the retailer would protect the personal data of customers choosing to buy Apple products. Specifically, Apple's complaint states, “The Reseller Agreement between Apple and RadioShack...
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After a run that lasted nearly a century, Radio Shack fell on hard times and is on the verge of extinction, at least as you know it. What's left of the 94-year-old chain went up for auction on Monday; with hedge fund Standard General emerging as the highest bidder. It also happens to be one of Radio Shack's creditors, though it could be the new owner of Radio Shack if a federal bankruptcy court approves the asset sale. Speaking of which, those assets contain personal information about you, the consumer. That's assuming you've ever shopped at a Radio Shack, even if it was a long, long time ago. If so, Radio Shack could be in possession of your name, email address, phone number,...
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One of the rumored features that didn't make it onto the iPhone 6 is the sapphire display. Touted for its durability and scratch-resistance, sapphire glass is used on the camera lens and Touch ID sensor, but not the main display where it's arguably needed most. It's not there in part because things turned sour between Apple and sapphire display maker GT Advanced, the latter of which accuses the former of a bait-and-switch tactic that ultimately led to a bankruptcy filing. This boils down to a he-said-she-said tiff, and in an affidavit filed with the United States Bankruptcy Court in New Hampshire by GT Advanced CEO Daniel Squiller, a not-so-pretty picture of Apple is painted when it comes to...
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Last week, we reported on the problems dogging Crytek, with UK staff allegedly going unpaid and increasing concerns over the company's ability to continue as a going concern. Those concerns have only amplified in the past week -- it's now reprorted that the majority of Crytek UK staff have turned in formal letters of grievance and left for home. Obviously reports like this need to be taken with a grain of salt, but Kotaku states that it's now heard from "close to 20" sources with positions at the company. In an age where employment can be quickly verified, a game studio isn't going to have 20 spoof accounts or two dozen disgruntled ex-janitors masquerading as programmers. The reason for the walk-offs...
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Crytek -- developers of the CryEngine and the hit Crysis series -- is, by all accounts, in significant trouble. Reports of problems are mounting at multiple publications as employees speak out about missed paychecks, layoffs, and multiple staff departing in the wake of non-payment. Eurogamer is reporting that Crytek UK has laid off or lost 30 staff working on Homefront: The Revolution since development started in 2011, including the Managing Director, Karl Hilton. Crytek, of course, is strenuously denying any and all reports that the company might be near bankruptcy, but comments coming from ex-employees (a rapidly growing group) paint a different picture. Multiple individuals have spoken to...
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Right on schedule, OCZ Technology is receiving an injection straight to the heart via Toshiba. After falling into bankruptcy last year and nearly instantly being rescued by Toshiba, the latter has announced today that it has "finalized the purchase of substantially all assets of OCZ Technology Group, making it a wholly owned subsidiary and Toshiba Group Company." Effective immediately, the Group company will operate independently as OCZ Storage Solutions, which means that we'll yet again see OCZ storage products making the rounds and breaking benchmark records. Here's perhaps the greatest news of all, straight from Toshiba: "The acquisition provides Toshiba with OCZ’s enterprise and client...
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LightSquared has had an interesting (and relatively rough) go as a company. The telecommunications firm launched with a lot of promise, just as North America was starting to embrace mobile broadband and LTE. But it soon realized that building out a network was a costly project, and fell into bankruptcy as bids from Sprint to take it over passed on by. Another company that looked into buying up what was left of LightSquared was Dish Network. In fact, it placed a staggering $2.2 billion on the table last year, but nothing ever became of it. Now, a new Wall Street Journal report suggests that Dish will be pulling that bid altogether. The report suggests that LightSquared's lenders -- the folks who...
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Editor's Update - 11/27 - 7:45PM We just had a call with some key team members at OCZ. Our contacts inform us that OCZ plans to continue operations in a "business as usual" mode. In fact representatives from OCZ noted specifically that the company will continue to manufacture product for existing customers, support warranties for existing customers, support customer service requirements and otherwise continue to function normally. The team at OCZ was actually fairly positive with respect to today's news and while the word "bankruptcy" typically conjures up a notion of the end times, it actually was portrayed more as a new beginning for OCZ. It was specifically noted that Toshiba values...
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So long, THQ, and thanks for the pie. The North American game developer and publisher responsible for Saints Row, the Red Faction Series, Company of Heroes, and other titles auctioned off its assets to competitors for around $72 million. "We were hoping that the entire company would remain intact, but we expect to hear good news from each of the separate entities that will be operating as part of new organizations," THQ boss Brian Farrell and President Jason Rubin penned in a letter to employees. "For those THQ employees who are part of entities that are not included in the sale, we are confident that the talent you have displayed as part of THQ will be recognized as you take the next steps in...
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Hot on the heels (in the worst possible way) of THQ filing for bankruptcy last month comes Atari's US-based headquarters doing the same. It's the company's goal to break free from its France-based overlord Atari, SA and then get bought out to reform as a private company and subsequently continue business under a new name. Atari, Inc. didn't begin its life as Atari, but rather GT Interactive. It was then named Infogrames, Inc. in 1999 thanks to a company stake increase, and finally, was renamed to Atari, Inc. in 2003 once Infogrames was able to acquire the rights to use the Atari name. While you're going to be seeing the name "Pong" thrown around a lot when reading about this bankruptcy,...
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Hard times have fallen on video game maker THQ, which reportedly filed for Chapter 1 bankruptcy this week. Affiliates of private equity firm Clearlake Capital Group L.P. will acquire THQ's assets for around $60 million, taking control of the company's four studios and any games currently in development. The sale will allow THQ to shed certain legacy obligations and emerge with a strong financial backing of a new owner, the games developer said. "The sale and filing are necessary next steps to complete THQ’s transformation and position the company for the future, as we remain confident in our existing pipeline of games, the strength of our studios and THQ’s deep bench of talent," said...
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The number of brick-and-mortar electronics shops available to do-it-yourself (DIY) system builders and consumer electronics (CE) junkies has fallen dramatically in the past several years. First it was Good Guys that fell by the wayside in 2005, then CompUSA that sunk itself into financial trouble a year later before being bought out by Systemax, and finally Circuit City, which Systemax also scooped up after the chain filed for bankruptcy in 2008. Could Fry's Electronics be next? Take this with a grain of salt, but a popular news and rumor site claims to have heard from sources (and confirmed with store employees "more than willing" to broach the subject) that Fry's Electronics has fallen behind...
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Well, we can't all act surprised at the same time. For years now, Blockbuster has been dwindling in importance. The store was once the face of movie renting, and now it's the face of what used-to-be. Ever since Netflix stormed onto the scene with a more convenient method of renting DVDs, Blockbuster has been declining. Stores have started to shut down, and even Blockbuster's attempts to mimic Netflix never really worked out. And once Netflix launched their Watch Instantly streaming service, the final nails began to sink into Blockbuster. According to the LA Times, Blockbuster is preparing to file for bankruptcy next month. The company has already had some close calls in the recent months, but...
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Think of it as the computer company that just...won't...die. After being lambasted by Apple from day one, dealing with more threats and lawsuits in a year that most of us will hear of in a lifetime and eventually filing for bankruptcy, the infamous Mac clone maker known only as Psystar is back. Shortly before most of America hits the pause button for a holiday weekend, the company made famous for producing its very own machines with OS X installed on them (without Apple's permission, mind you) has issued an email newsletter that clearly states that it is "ready to emerge [from bankruptcy] and battle Goliath [otherwise known as Apple]." Of course, the company is still awaiting a formal dismissal,...
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You remember Psystar, don't you? How could you not, right? The company famous (or should we say infamous?) for forging ahead with production on Mac clones even as lawsuits from Apple piled up has finally caved, but not to Apple. No, it has caved to the pressures of financing a business.According to a new report up at The Mac Observer, the company -- which engineered stylish PCs that were sold with Apple's OS X operating system -- filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Florida late last week. If you're wondering why all the hubbub, it's that no third-party PC maker is allowed to sell hardware with Apple's OS X operating system. Only Apple is allowed to sell machines with OS X, and Psystar...
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Ugobe, the maker of Pleo, the robotic dinosaur (pictured), has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Yes, Chapter 7, not Chapter 11, so unless someone decides to buy the company's assets, Pleo is doomed to extinction. Ugobe's CEO, Caleb Chung, also created the Furby, which when launched in 1998 became the "must have" toy of the holiday season. According to the company, it managed to sell 100,000 Pleos last year, for revenue of $20 million. Yet that wasn't enough to keep the company alive. The Pleo was able to realistically mimic a pet. It cost $350 when it was introduced, and now retails for $245 on Amazon. Ugobe life-forms, and that's what they called them, life forms, all conform to "three laws of...
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It appears that Circuit City’s liquidation sales have been successful. So successful, in fact, that the stores are running out of inventory sooner than expected. As a result, liquidators have announced that all of the chain’s remaining stores will close this Sunday. The shutdowns come about a week ahead of schedule, and two weeks earlier than originally planned. Even after the stores close, there’s still a lot to be done, however. The company’s wind-down process is expected to last two years while crews liquidate remaining assets, shut down the final businesses, and reconcile claims against the company. To assist with some of the final items of business, a small staff will remain at the corporate...
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Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Just months after sat radio powerhouses Sirius and XM merged, the singular entity is teetering on collapse. The company (and formerly, companies) have always been pretty strapped for cash, but it appears that its leverage has almost expired. According to a recent report from the Associated Press, it's expected that the satellite radio company could file for bankruptcy as early as Tuesday.Apparently, the firm is having a difficult time negotiating with the holders of its debt, and while that in and of itself isn't surprising, a failure to work things out could leave it little option but to wave the white flag. Reportedly, it has exchanged $172.5 million of debt...
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America’s third largest electronics retailer with 721 stores in the U.S. and 770 in Canada, has petitioned for Chapter 11 protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Richmond. After losing money in five of the last six quarters and announcing last week it would close 155 stores, Circuit City is seeking bankruptcy protection amidst fears that it would not be able to pay its vendors. The company presently owes Hewlett-Packard Co.$119 Million and Samsung Electronics Co. $116 million.A deal earlier this year that involved Blockbuster Inc. buying the retailer fell through when a preliminary offer was withdrawn. "On Sept. 29, Circuit City reported a loss of $239.2 million that was more than triple from...
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