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Gizmondo Europe to be liquidated

High Court orders handheld manufacturer wound up, Tiger hoping to salvage some assets from subsidiary's demise.

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In a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Tiger Telematics revealed that its Gizmondo Europe subsidiary has been ordered to liquidate under British law.

The company had filed a High Court application for administration in the UK in January. That would have protected the company from creditors while it underwent a financial restructuring, but it was denied last week. Now the matter has been turned over to a pair of liquidation firms. In its SEC filing, Tiger Telmatics said it now assumes the firms will fire all Gizmondo Europe employees, cease all its operations (including customer support), and sell off its assets. Between the court order and the liquidations of its development studios in Manchester and Sweden, Tiger Telematics said that these actions could make up for about $72 million of the roughly $90 the company claims in liabilities.

While things are grim for the company's European business, Tiger Telematics might be trying to salvage its domestic operations. The company said in its SEC filing that it is attempting to procure some funds from a lending agreement that would allow it to acquire some assets form Gizmondo Europe, and "is considering its available options with its Texas games studio subsidiary and its kiosk sales units." Continuing its business in the US would require substantial amounts of debt and equity financing, but Tiger is also looking into the possibility of selling the company as a whole, or merely its other assets, like intellectual property rights, patents, and game rights.

Whatever it decides to do, Tiger Telematics said it would report shortly on its restructuring plans.

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