Interplay facing eviction?

Shortly after its CEO Herve Caen gave analysts an upbeat presentation during an earnings conference call, Interplay filed an 8-K form with the Securities and Exchange Commission divulging the state of its finances.

Besides highlighting the disparity between its cash balance of $1.2 million and working-capital deficit of $14.8 million, the notice also revealed that Interplay is facing eviction from its Irvine, California, headquarters. The filing states that "As of April 1, 2004, the Company [Interplay] was three months in arrears on the rent obligations for its corporate lease in Irvine, California." During the conference call, Caen revealed that the rent for Interplay headquarters is around $150,000 a month, meaning that the company currently owes its landlord approximately $450,000--nearly half its cash on hand.

Given the amount of money involved, it's not surprising that legal papers have already been served. "On April 9, 2004, the Company's lessor served it with a Three-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Surrender Possession," continued the 8-K filing. "If the Company is unable to pay its rent, it may lose its office space, which would interrupt operations and cause substantial harm to business." With Interplay's ambitious schedule of upcoming releases--which include Kingpin and Descent sequels and a console game based on Fallout--a forced move of its 113 employees would be inconvenient, to say the least.

Given that it has been three days since April 9, the eviction matter should have already been settled one way or the other. However, calls and e-mails to Interplay were not returned.