Bankruptcy -- Engadget

bankruptcy posts

Polymer Vision gets new lease on life thanks to Wistron

by Tim Stevens posted Oct 29th 2009 at 7:36AM

Poor Readius, we barely knew ye and your folding e-ink screen before parent company Polymer Vision went bankrupt and, well, that was the end of that. Or was it? Wistron apparently made a bid for the remains of the company over the summer and, as of September, Polymer was acting as a division of the Acer spin-off. The Wistron board has finally approved the €12 million ($18 million) investment and so where once there were two companies now there is one. The jury is still out on whether the Polymer Vision brand will survive, but its technology -- and legend -- will still burn.

Iridium to merge with GHL, get back into sat phone game

by Darren Murph posted Sep 28th 2009 at 9:34AM

Aside from pushing out around one phone per year (at best), Iridium Satellite really hasn't had a major impact on the market over the past ten years. 'Course, that's probably because it's hard to have much impact after seeking bankruptcy protection in 1999, but we digress. Starting tomorrow, new life will be breathed into Iridium thanks to a merger with publicly traded GHL Acquisition. If all goes to plan, the merger will add over $200 million to the company's bank account, enabling it to pay down debt and develop a next-generation network of satellites to be launched in 2014. Furthermore, $160 million will be raised by issuing another 16 million shares at $10 a pop, and a new label (Iridium Communications) will be thrown on for good measure. Only time will tell if the world really is ready to adopt satellite phones en masse, but if TerraStar's latest deal is any indication, we'd say chances are ~~good~~ halfway decent.

Nabaztag can't make RFID cool, has to file for bankruptcy

by Darren Murph posted Aug 11th 2009 at 2:27AM

We always knew that any company courageous enough to take a technology designed to help mega-corps monitor their inventory levels and make it mainstream would face an uphill battle, but we never envisioned Nabaztag caving entirely to the pressure. If a snippet in a recent issue of Les Echos (a French financial paper) is to be believed, the creator of the rabbit-inspired Violet RFID Mirror has filed for bankruptcy, giving any company interested in keeping the brand alive until September 4th to toss out a cash infusion. Not like we're looking at you, Mr. VC, but we're definitely hoping to not be sobbing about this in just under a month. Tick, tock.

[Voa Loic Le Meur]

Polymer Vision yields to bankruptcy, we bid Readius adieu

by Darren Murph posted Jul 18th 2009 at 2:02PM

Ugh. Another one bites the gently gnashed rock particles, as they say. Polymer Vision, which was already having some pretty significant cash flow issues back in April, has reportedly caved under pressure and sought shelter under Chapter 11. According to the Hampshire Chronicle, the company famous for developing a bendable e-paper display has fittingly folded, leaving its 50 employees searching for new lines of work and millions of fans grasping for answers. The report continues to say that the promising (but oft delayed) Readius display isn't likely to ship in its current form, and now it seems that the future is quite murky for the company and its flagship product. Call us crazy, but if you're looking for an easy way into the e-paper market, you might be able to pick up whatever's left here for a song. Just sayin'.

[Thanks, Charlie]

Psystar bounces back from Chapter 11, intros new high-end hardware

by Paul Miller posted Jul 2nd 2009 at 11:16AM

Everybody's favorite fuzzy little Apple clone maker is back from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection (we're still waiting on that revelatory outing of creditors that Apple is so hungry for), and already has a new product in the offering. Psystar's new Open(7) hardware runs Intel Nehalem Xeon, which should provide a nice performance jolt to hackintosh land. Psystar is also going to start using a new bootloader called Darwin Universal Boot Loader, which will eventually be released to open source. Oh, and just in case you were wondering: a little bit of bankruptcy hasn't softened the company's confrontational spirit: Psystar says it's ready to "emerge and again battle Goliath," and that when "life gives you apples, make applesauce." It's kind of cute, really.

[Via TUAW]

GM says bankruptcy won't affect the Volt, but how much say does it have?

by Darren Murph posted Jun 1st 2009 at 1:11PM

As General Motors finally caved this morning, waved the white flag and filed for bankruptcy, those following electric cars immediately wondered what this all would mean for the long-awaited Volt. For years now, GM has steadfastly affirmed that it was moving forward with production regardless of what else was going on within the company and the economy at large. According to Technology Review, a GM spokesperson confirmed again this morning that "the filing will have no impact on the company's plans to start selling the Volt at the end of next year." That said, we have to wonder how much such a statement really means; reports have stated that the US government may up holding as much as 60 percent of the company, and if the primary goal is to bring the outfit back to profitability as soon as possible, Obama and Company may not feel that pouring even more into the high-priced Volt is a good idea. In related news, we hear Tesla is still taking orders...

Update: GM has pushed out an official statement that (in a few words) also suggests that the Volt is still on track.

Psystar files for bankruptcy, anonymous creditors to be outed

by Paul Miller posted May 26th 2009 at 1:54PM

We have mixed feelings about the news that Psystar is going under. On the one hand, it's wonderful having somebody attempt to create powerful, expandable Macs for cheap, on the other hand the company has been generally abrasive to the grassroots hacker community its work is based on, and pretty bombastic when it comes to Apple and "the law." But hey, everybody needs to make a profit, even companies being sued into oblivion by Apple, and the news of Psystar filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection has interesting legal implications. Not only does it stall Apple's case against the company -- while implying a possibly inevitable defeat -- but Apple has long posited that a mystery investor behind Psystar has nefarious aims, and the bankruptcy hearing on June 5th will name the creditors behind the company. Our fingers are crossed for a "Dan Brown"-style conspiracy, but we're prepared to be "post-2002 Tom Hanks"-style disappointed.

[Via SlashGear]

Systemax relaunches Circuit City's website, this time with feeling

by Darren Murph posted May 23rd 2009 at 5:56PM

After shelling out some $6.5 million, you had to know that Systemax planned on doing something with Circuit City's trademarks and internet domain names. As of today, CircuitCity.com is back and better than ever, carrying on the legacy of a name that became synonymous with overpriced consumer electronics for nearly six decades. Of course, this doesn't mean that any Circuit City retail stores will be re-opening, but at least the brand is living on in the world wide web. The wonders of the internet: I Can Has Cheezburger?, Twitter and the continuation of an icon that would otherwise be six feet underground.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

SGI name lives on after $42.5 million sale to Rackable Systems

by Joseph L. Flatley posted May 12th 2009 at 10:33AM

As you know, Rackable Systems was originally hoping to acquire the one-time king of the 3D set for $25 million (with some speculating that even that was a bit much), but it looks like the bankruptcy judges had other plans. Now that the dust has settled (and a check has been cut for almost twice the original asking price) it looks like the two companies will finally merge, forming an outfit called... SGI. The newly minted Silicon Graphics International hopes to combine the strong server business of Rackable with the original Silicon Graphics Inc. name (and overseas service contracts), inspiring the same sort of technological alchemy that once brought the iconic brand to the silver screen by way of such fine cinematic fare as First Kid. In addition, SGI plans continued development and support for the existing Silicon Graphics and Rackable product lines. Quite frankly, we really don't care what they do, as long as they bring back the Indigo -- back in the day we would have killed for one of those bad boys.

Phoenix Motorcars undergoing restructuring, still committed to EV space

by Darren Murph posted Apr 30th 2009 at 5:28PM

With proven success stories like Tesla struggling to keep those electric car dreams alive in today's economy, it's no shock to hear that at least one little guy (that'd be Phoenix Motorcars) has caved to the pressures. After reviving itself once already late last year by nailing down a partnership with the absolutely stunning state of Hawai'i, it seems the company hasn't been able to progress as planned with its intentions to bring EVs and an electric vehicle infrastructure to the island of Maui. According to a filing on April 27th, the flagging automaker has pegged the soft economy (surprise!) as well as a $5.3 million arbitration apparently won by former drivetrain supplier UQM as the main contributors to its demise. In an update to the situation, however, its CEO has replied to AutoblogGreen in order to reaffirm that it "has not abandoned the alternative fuels transportation space." Unfortunately, that could mean absolutely anything... or nothing at all.

Read - Original filing
Read - Update from Phoenix MC

Ugobe files for bankruptcy, Pleo facing extinction

by Nilay Patel posted Apr 20th 2009 at 9:33PM

Looks like Pleo couldn't dodge that meteor -- everyone's favorite lovable robot dinosaur company Ugobe has laid off all its employees and filed for bankruptcy. That confirms a month of speculation that things were on the brink -- Ugobe's website has been up and down for a while, and a major supplier filed suit a couple weeks ago for nonpayment. There's a chance that some other toymaker will swoop in and pick up the pieces during the liquidation, but we wouldn't hold our breath -- Pleo owners, feel free to commiserate in the comments.

Painful bonus: Link your pics of the Pleo going extinct on our comment form here and we'll make a gallery. C'mon. You know you want to do it.

Gallery: Images of Pleo's extinction

[Thanks, Andrew]

Continue reading Ugobe files for bankruptcy, Pleo facing extinction

Systemax snaps up Circuit City's brand and domain name

by Darren Murph posted Apr 13th 2009 at 6:33PM

Just like it did in January of last year, Systemax is snapping up leftovers from a now-defunct national consumer electronics retailer. As part of the post-bankruptcy proceedings, Circuit City Stores Incorporated recently closed a deal that'll net it $6.5 million. The price for the coinage? Systemax taking control of its trademarks and internet domain names. Circuit City stated in the filing that the sale of its intellectual property and internet assets would bring "significant recovery for the sellers' estates and creditors," and we're also told that Circuit City would be able to snag an unspecified share of sales from the brand name. Look out, Best Buy -- we hear Systemax has eyes for you, too.

[Thanks, Sid]

Ritz Camera closing 300 retail stores, liquidation sales start April 4th

by Ross Miller posted Apr 2nd 2009 at 11:21PM

As part of its newfound bankrutpcy status, Ritz Camera's gearing up to close more than 300 of its around 700 brick-and-mortar stores across the US, or about 43 percent of its retail presence. Starting April 4th, the affect stores will begin liquidation sales that'll go on until -- in the words of the press release -- "everything is sold to the bare walls." Forget DSLRs, if you were needing any fancy, brick-and-mortal shelving units, now might be your chance! Hit up the read link for a PDF listing all the closing stores.

SGI to sell itself for just $25m, throw huge sadness party

by Darren Murph posted Apr 2nd 2009 at 5:06PM

Man, the difference a few ~~years~~ decades makes. In the 90s, Silicon Graphics helped create silver screen mega-hits like Jurassic Park and Terminator 2, and in 1997, its fiscal year sales totaled $3.66 billion. Today, the company's mired in its second bankruptcy, which has occurred just three years after the first. In order to just terminate the dream before it gets any more nightmarish, SGI has announced plans to sell itself to Fremont-based Rackable Systems for a mere $25 million -- and some analysts are even concerned that the suitor here could be sinking its teeth into a sour deal. The agreement still has to be approved by a bankruptcy judge, and of course, there's still a few more inches of red tape to cut through, but we'll be sure to let you know when the fantasy ends and the wake begins.

Liberty Media rescues Sirius XM from bankruptcy

by Darren Murph posted Feb 17th 2009 at 10:05AM

We guess those bailout talks with DirecTV weren't so futile after all, huh? The satcaster's parent company, Liberty Media, has just stepped in to rescue Sirius XM from the clutches of bankruptcy, providing a $530 million life raft that it will use to pay off looming debt payments and keep operations humming. Liberty will write a $280 million check immediately, of which $171 million will go straight to debtors. Another round of funding (to the tune of $250 million) will be available to Sirius XM in order to "help it pay its debts and ward off a potential takeover of Sirius by Charlie Ergen's DISH Network." In return for this mighty appreciated favor, Liberty Media will own 12.5 million shares of preferred stock in Sirius XM, which it can convert into common stock should it so choose. Also of note, founder John Malone and Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei are likely to join Sirius XM's board of directors. Is that a collective sign of relief we just heard, or what?

[Via Denver Business Journal, thanks Michael]