iEN Faces More Problems

A few months ago GameSpot News likened the problems at then-Interactive Magic (now the iEntertainment Network or iEN) as being in a raft, without a paddle, and headed straight into some Class IV rapids.

Now comes word that the raft's rudder – in other words, iEN CEO J.W. “Wild Bill” Stealey – is jumping ship quite literally. Though supposedly Stealey's departure was announced in the spring, no one outside of the company ever heard about it. It's not entirely news, however, as many have suspected that Stealey, instead of helping bail out the raft after steering it into the rapids in the first place, would cast off when the waters got rough.

This announcement came interestingly enough the same day that the company's stock (NASDAQ: IMGK) hit about as rock bottom as it gets, dipping below one point in the afternoon to close at 1. A week ago, iEN stated that it was going to fight NASDAQ's decision to remove the company's name from its National Market listing, stating that the company needed tangible assets of at least US$4 million. The sale of the CD-ROM division did not convince NASDAQ, and iEN is scrambling to come up with a new plan before the hearing (which may take place some time in August).

In the meanwhile iEN is looking for a new CEO to magically pull the endangered raft back before it flips over in the rapids. Stealey, with a position on the company's board of directors still intact (not to mention acting as a consultant to iEN and receiving free maintenance and storage for his personal T-28 Trojan aircraft), will go merrily on.

iEN's annual shareholder meeting will be held on October 19, 1999.