Quoted from jonesjb:Here’s something I don’t get... if the current owners of Heighway are obligated to get the most funds from assets so they can pay creditors, shouldn’t they have to fulfill those with the $1,500 preorders (which would mean an extra ~$6,500 per pin) BEFORE selling the pins to their new company (assuming the new company is paying less than than $6,500)?
No - from legal, common sense and ethical perspectives.
Preferred creditors are generally the source of monetary loans, suppliers acting as creditors, landlord, large / institutional shareholders; even staff. Private, non-business customers sit at the very bottom of the list.
You may not want to hear it, it is a bitter pill, and it sucks, but so they should be.
People's jobs and livelihoods are in the balance with the former. The latter is spending of disposable income ... and on leisure, in this case.
We'll see how this shakes out, but ultimately blaming the investors at this stage seems ridiculous. They attempted, unsuccessfully, to sort out the gigantic shit show that Andrew left, and lost a lot of money doing so. Even best case, if their assessment had been correct and Andrew had told the truth for once, this was never going to be any great money spinner for them, or a business that they could flip to other investors for a profit quickly.
The primary motivation seemed to me to be rescuing pinball and customers from another disaster. Possibly also embarrassment at having been duped in the first place, and wanting to right that.
That was certainly the impression I got when I spoke to Roger & Daniel on the eve of them taking over, to try to warn them about what might lie ahead and to be prepared (not to warn them against doing it). They did think they could break even fairly quickly, hence the initial and totally unworkable plan that they presented ... but even if the company and game weren't in a far worse position than they thought, a license to print money was never, ever going to result.
However, they were probably in denial, even some way into their stewardship, about how bad things really were, and the true nature of what went on before. Even some who had a lot of the facts were, and were until very recently - facts and fiction were quite hard to separate given some of the credulity stretching things that went on.
If they really thought, at any stage, that this would be a worthwhile, profitable investment that could stand on its own two feet against other possible investment options, then they were incredibly naive.
The structure of ownership, Pinball Brothers and their various holding companies that they used were to limit liability, and is common practice. I'm amazed they lasted this long, really. Now you see them being used as a backstop (I think).
If as some people are saying, they intend to keep trying ... I'm not sure that's a great idea. They got fooled once initially by Andrew. A lot of people did. Then they likely lost a lot more a second time, even if some of the aggrieved were ultimately refunded, got a game, or were paid what they were owed ... but the car crash continued, many didn't, and they simultaneously allowed the perpetrator of all this an escape route, where he continues to get off scot-free. I suspect they'll just continue to lose (lots) more money if they go in for a third try.
But hope dies last.