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Atari US secures $2 million in financing, prepares to sell assets

Richard Mitchell — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 21:30:00 EST

After declaring bankruptcy last month, the US branch of Atari has closed $2 million in debtor-in-possession financing. Another $3 million is expected once the credit documents are filed and subsequently approved by the court. The company will use the funds to finance its current operations while "evaluating its strategic options" for restructuring.

Pending court approval, Atari has also hired Perella Weinberg Partners, an independent advisory and asset management firm, to help evaluate said options. Part of that responsibility will be to aid in the sale of Atari's assets, which include everything from Pong to the company's logo. Anyone want to go halfsies on Combat?

Continue reading Atari US secures $2 million in financing, prepares to sell assets

Atari US secures $2 million in financing, prepares to sell assets originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 05 Feb 2013 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Creditors, Trustee object to THQ sale conditions

Jordan Mallory — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 21:30:00 EST

Back when THQ filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last month, the plan was for the developer/publisher would be sold to Clearlake Capital Group in one big chunk within 30 days, preventing the need for layoffs and avoiding the need to split THQ's various franchises up and sell them a la carte. While this plan sounds like a best-case scenario for THQ given the circumstances, other parties involved in the process have doubts, and have subsequently filed official objections.

There's a lot of complicated legal stuff going on, but the situation essentially breaks down like this: US Trustee Roberta DeAngelis has filed an objection over the sale's time table, saying that the 30-day window is far too small to give parties other than Clearlake Capital Group a chance to bid and participate in the sale. She also took issue with a stipulation in THQ's plan that awards $2.25 million to Clearlake in the event that a different company wins the bid; that amount is disproportionately large with respect to the cash value of the purchase price, she claims.

A consortium of THQ's creditors have also filed an objection, claiming that THQ's proposed bidding procedures "appear to have been designed specifically to thwart any potential bidders from stepping forward to compete with Clearlake's bid," taking issue with the sale's time table and "requirement that prospective purchasers bid on the Debtors 'as a whole' rather than on a 'piecemeal' or 'title-by-title' basis."

In essence, the creditors feel as though the process has been designed to keep THQ operational, rather than to pay back its debts: "Rather than being designed to maximize the value of the Debtors' estates, the Bidding Procedures, by design or otherwise, render the 'auction process' meaningless and virtually guarantee that Clearlake will be the ultimate buyer, thereby ensuring that the Debtors' management retain their positions within, and operating control over, the Debtors' organization."

A hearing is scheduled for tomorrow, during which we're confident at least two lawyers will make more money than we'll ever see in our entire lives. They'll probably also talk about this stuff.

Creditors, Trustee object to THQ sale conditions originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 03 Jan 2013 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Unannounced THQ games from Vigil, Turtle Rock, more in bankruptcy filing

Jessica Conditt — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 15:50:00 EST

THQ's filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy includes a rundown of all of its current projects and lists a few unannounced games from Vigil Games, Turtle Rock, Relic Entertainment and Patrice Desilets, who is at THQ Montreal.

Relic Entertainment is developing a project under a working title of "Atlas," set to launch in 2014, as well as Company of Heroes 2, the filing states.

Turtle Rock Studios, previously involved in Left 4 Dead 2 and Counter-Strike Source, is developing a co-op, multiplayer action game called Evolve. THQ filed a trademark for Evolve in March.

THQ Montreal is working on 1666, another trademark THQ filed in March.

Vigil Games, the team behind the Darksiders series, is working on a game called Crawler. No more information about this project is revealed in the filing and this is the first murmur of its existence.

THQ game director Jason Rubin tweets that all current projects are on track for their scheduled release dates, including Company of Heroes 2, Metro Last Light and South Park: The Stick of Truth, while Saint's Row and Homefront follow-ups are still a go.

Unannounced THQ games from Vigil, Turtle Rock, more in bankruptcy filing originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 19 Dec 2012 15:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Playlogic asks for mercy from court against creditors

Alexander Sliwinski — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

Dutch publisher Playlogic (Fairytale Fights, Obscure: The Aftermath) has notified the US Securities and Exchange Commission that it has entered into "surseance van betaling," which is closely equivalent to the States' Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company claims in the filing that "Tough market conditions, late payments by large customers and the delays in projects have forced the company to seek protection under the Dutch bankruptcy laws."

According to GI.biz, Playlogic is suing distribution partner Koch Media for €1.7 million ($2.2M) in unpaid bills as it continues hemorrhaging money, after recording a $20 million loss in its previous fiscal year. For a company that stated just yesterday that it wasn't bankrupt, it's amazing what a difference a day makes.

Playlogic asks for mercy from court against creditors originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 28 Jul 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Midway creditors accept $1 million payout

Xav de Matos — Sun, 30 May 2010 21:30:00 EST

To settle the outstanding claims against former owner Sumner Redstone, Bloomberg is reporting that the creditors' committee of the defunct publisher Midway Games has agreed to a $1 million cash lump sum payout.

It was previously reported that prior to the lump sum agreement, unsecured creditors of the parent company would only be able to recover 16.5 percent of what had been owed, while unsecured creditors of subsidiaries would only be eligible to 25 percent. After reportedly liquidating its Chapter 11 plan last week, the new cash agreement represents a more financially beneficial deal for all parties involved.

Midway's death spiral comes to a finale following a tawdry love affair with conspiracy-fueled headlines, including legal battles and multiple companies picking away properties from the company like vultures at a fresh corpse. The bankruptcy court will rule on the settlement agreement on June 23.

[Via GI.biz]

Midway creditors accept $1 million payout originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 30 May 2010 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Stargate: Resistance developer files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

Griffin McElroy — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 15:30:00 EST

Stargate Worlds and Stargate: Resistance developer Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment has suffered the slings and arrows of economic turmoil for months now, leading to a number of unflattering reports about the company's finances. However, it seems the studio is taking steps to get itself back on the right track: A representative for Cheyenne recently announced on its official forums that the developer has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

In the aforementioned forum post, the representative assured fans of the Stargate games that, should the bankruptcy filing be approved, that the company won't simply shut down while it restructures. He explained, "our entire staff is in-house working on upgrades and expansions for Stargate: Resistance, and we continue to be motivated and excited by the response we've received from our customers." We wish everyone the best of luck with turning the good ship Cheyenne back into more prosperous waters.

Stargate: Resistance developer files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 20 Feb 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Feds and creditors decry Midway's 'key employee incentive plan'

Griffin McElroy — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 14:16:00 EST

Like flies to honey, Midway can't seem to stop attracting controversy as it attempts to stay afloat during its "planned" bankruptcy phase. This time around, the besieged developer is coming under fire from its creditors and the government committee overseeing its bankruptcy proceedings for planning to dish out $3.755 million to 29 of its employees as part of a "key employee incentive plan."

According to The Cut Scene, the bonuses were set up to reward the select employees (five of which are supposedly Midway executives) should they manage to sell the Wheelman and Mortal Kombat franchises. The feds and creditors took issue with these goals -- when the "incentive plan" was submitted, Wheelman had already been sold to Ubisoft. The incensed parties also took issue with attaching incentives to the sale of Mortal Kombat -- a duty mandated by Midway's "obligations under the Bankruptcy Code."

There are other troublesome points in the plan, such as the fairly high amount of cash it would dispense -- cash that the owed creditors would like to see in their own coffers. Midway will reportedly file an updated (and likely less lucrative) version of the "incentive plan" before its public bankruptcy hearing tomorrow morning.

Update: The revised "key incentive plan" was submitted by Midway last night and alters the previous plan in a few key ways. Midway CEO Matt Booty has been subtracted from the equation, leaving four out of 28 potential employees receiving bonuses, and of those 28, the bonus will be based on the amount of money various properties are sold at. The sale of the Wheelman property will no longer be considered as part of the bonus requirements and the Mortal Kombat franchise will only count if "all of its assets" are sold along with it. To read more about what has changed, check out The Cut Scene.

Feds and creditors decry Midway's 'key employee incentive plan' originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 31 Mar 2009 14:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dear former Midway employee asking about unpaid wages, here's your answer:

Alexander Sliwinski — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 13:31:00 EST

Let's start off by assuring you that if you're a current or ex-employee of a company sending us information: A) We won't reveal your name if you ask to stay anonymous; and B) You really should leave a working return email address.

As to the matter at hand, we have received a request for legal advice from an alleged former employee of Midway, who writes:

"Those impacted by the recent lay off seem to have lost their PTO (earned vacation days). Class action law suit may be pending. Getting 2 months paid leave of absence was really nice, but that was required by law (the Mitchell Act) requiring 60 days notice for mass layoffs. After receiving a letter in the final week stating that the accrued PTO was NOT to be received in the final check, but in the following pay period, Midway declared Chapter 11 and evidently sent a subsequent letter stating that the PTO would not be paid at all. Evidently this is pretty common with bankruptcy. Is there a class-action lawsuit that people can join or should we all just file a claim in small claims court?"

Lucky for you, we've got a talented lawyer (and LGJ columnist) on staff, Mark Methenitis. Read Mark's response after the break.

Continue reading Dear former Midway employee asking about unpaid wages, here's your answer:

Dear former Midway employee asking about unpaid wages, here's your answer: originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 25 Feb 2009 13:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Midway files for Chapter 11

David Hinkle — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 11:45:00 EST

Midway has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy today, but, see, it's okay, because it's all part of the plan. Newly appointed CEO, Matt Booty, says filing for Chapter 11 was "a difficult but necessary decision." He also noted Midway has been "focused on realigning our operations and improving our execution" and that filing for Chapter 11 will allow the company some relief from "immediate pressure from our creditors." To Booty, Chapter 11 is nothing more than the "next logical step in an ongoing process to address our capital structure."

Midway expects to be able to run the company as usual, and even filed a variety of First Day Motions to that end. The court is usually lenient with these Motions and often grants them, so this should give Midway some time to finish up that next Mortal Kombat game and maybe get out of the red.

Midway files for Chapter 11 originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 12 Feb 2009 11:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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