CompuServe Messages

In the Sunday, July 31, edition of the Philadelphia Inquirer, an article by Dan Stets appeared concerning Commodore. Its main points were … 1. One of the liquidators, Franklyn Wilson, states that "he hopes to arrange a sale by the end of August." 2. David Pleasance of Commodore UK said that "His group's financing is contingent on getting computers to market by Christmas, and any further delay would jeopardize that." 3. More than 3.5 million Amigas have been sold. 4. About 20 engineers remain with Commodore at their new Pennsylvania HQ in Norristown PA (the old CSG building) 5. Scala (a Norwegian company) "has picked up at least nine former Commodore engineers, including Jeff Porter, head of product development." 6. "The liquidator's principal obstacle so far has been Commodore's creditors." "Commodore's combined debt and contingent liabilities total $145 million." 7. Per Bahamian law (Commodore is a Bahamian company), the creditors are given only an advisory role. "To assuage the creditors, the Bahamian liquidators have launched two investigations." "A principal aim is to determine the value of Commodore's intellectual property." 8. "The fair market value of Commodore already was pretty well-known because the company's executives had been trying to sell it for months before the bankruptcy." 9. Amstrad PLC and Philips Electronics "are said to have lost interest, at least in part because of the legal delays." 10. Creative Equipment International (CEI) plans to submit a bid this week. CEI sold $25 million worth of Amiga's a year in North America. 11. David Pleasance of Commodore UK, "said that he already had manufacturing sites lined up in the United Kingdom and would start ordering supplies as soon as the liquidators decide." 12. "What Samsung wants to do is not clear. Repeated attempts to contact the company were unsuccessful." -sja