Published in News

Quick bankruptcy sale denied for THQ

by on08 January 2013



Judge says other potential buyers shut out


Bad news was handed down for THQ by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Mary F. Walrath. The Judge sided with creditors, saying that a quick bankruptcy sale was shutting out other potential buyers. The ruling means that the auction that THQ was hoping to conduct on January 9th is on hold for the moment.

While THQ’s creditors might see this as a victory, the reality is that THQ may not survive, as the creditors would like to see potential bidders be able to be able to bid on the individual titles, since many creditors believe the pieces are worth more than the whole. This is a perspective that is often held in bankruptcy proceedings that are similar, where multiple assets are involved.

At least one potential bidder is known to be none other than Warner Bros Entertainment. The lawyer representing Warner Bros Entertainment claims that if the sale process is extended, the company is interested.

Warner Bros Entertainment could be an interesting place for the THQ company or a number of the THQ titles to end up. Warner Bros Entertainment was the company who ended up with a majority of the assets from Midway; and adding THQ’s strongest titles could help boost the publisher and add a number of additional titles to the company’s catalog.

Industry sources tell us that an individual title sale, which the Judge at least seems to be willing to consider, would likely add other publishers into the mix. While some of the other large publishers might not want to take on the entire THQ company, they might not object to taking on a single studio responsible for an individual title. Several of the company’s franchises (including Saints Row, WWE Wrestling, Darksiders, Metro, and Homefront) do have significant potential to continue to be successful.

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