Quoted from Astropin:

NO IT's NOT! Not at all, not in the slightest. Read above. There was no "group", there was Andrew (with silent investors)...now there is a group.

Quoted from Wickerman2:

I don't think you really know that. The legalese they are supposedly signing this week could and should say exactly that...you are taking on refunds, the whole lot. This is 100% conjecture at this point...opinion stated as fact.
You basically have no choice but to wait and hear from them unless you have a means to do a charge back via your payment method. The people with first hand knowledge of the "new" people have expressed cautious optimism, when they make their official ink-is-dry announcement then hit speed dial and request the money. Until then, this is all just a bunch of internet opinion based on basically nothing. The hot air probably makes people feel better...venting and what not but it's not getting anything.

Quoted from chrisnack:

Hi Pinball friend!
We are reaching out to you since you have pre-ordered an Alien Pinball from us at Heighway Pinball. Sadly we have also received your request for a refund. I don’t know if you are aware of the latest changes at Heighway Pinball? Times are a changing and to the better! There is no denial that there has been a massive struggle getting to the stage of mass production. As you might have heard there has been changes in the management at Heighway recently. The group of investors that previously was minor shareholders, and uninvolved in the daily business, is now leading the company into the next phase of the company’s development. Don’t worry, we will carry on the legacy from Andrew when it comes to making great pinball machines based on great themes, but we will also bring a completely new dimension to the management side of the company. The investment group consists of business men with a BIG heart for pinball! We simply know a lot about how to run businesses successfully at the same time as we love pinball and everything that has to do with it (whether it be collecting, restoring, competing etc.)
To further introduce us to you, please find the core team below. There are more investors involved but these guys are the main group who will be driving Heighway Pinball forward:
Roger Svanevik and Cato Paus-Skrede – Norwegians.
A little about us. We have been together as “brothers” since the 80’s. We started a business together in the fire protection field in the 90’s and built it from the ground up. We also have background in business, computers and programming. We are involved in several businesses and have been involved in building most of them from the ground up. Today we are involved in and run our own businesses in fire protection, software development, construction material production, digital printing and marketing products and game operating. Some of you might have seen us and talked to us around the world on pinball shows as we love pinball.
Daniel Janson – Swedish.
My story with pinball started in a snack bar in the early 80’s. My background is with IT, I am a computer guy who started my own business in 2001, a business that today employs quite some people at a few offices around Sweden. My base skill is software programming and I originally started programming to develop computer games. In 2012 I decided to start a pinball shop since there were none in Sweden at the time. So, I started Free Play which have grown into a business on its own for the last 5 years. We may have met at some pinball show in the past years, possibly in a competition or at the Heighway Pinball booth.
Patrik Tenn – Swedish.
If you ever visit Sweden you need to come by my place, a nice place for pinheads since my pinball collection contains around 100 machines. I started a manufacturing business in the mid-90’s that runs still. My first business was founded already back in 1988. I bring vast experience in the field of manufacturing to Heighway Pinball and knows a lot about how to run a production line efficiently.
Alexander Spohr – German.
I got my first pinball when I was eleven, an Orbit. Since then I founded three companies with different partners, employing more than 150 people. They are still in existence, one is now part of a larger one.
Pinball may be a difficult business. But I am used to tackle problems in my way and overcome them.
We would like to speak to you and ask why you have asked for a refund for Alien. We are straightforward about this and are obviously very interested to know if there is anything that could make you change your mind now that things finally start to get exciting? We do have a solid plan moving forwards which we will share with you on the phone. We sincerely hope you are willing to let us explain our thoughts for the way forward.
Due to increased production cost of Alien since the game was initially announced we want you to know there is a price increase planned in the near future – however, as a pre-order customer you are still entitled to the price you got when placing your pre-order.
We will give you a call in the next few days and are looking forward to a really nice pinball conversation!
Very Best Regards,
The new management of Heighway Pinball

Quoted from HoakyPoaky:

As a longtime paid in full Alien LE customer, I thought I would post one last time to give an update on my refund. Hopefully some of you will find this helpful.
I've been waiting on my refund for several months, and I've been pretty vocal in these threads. But when the new ownership group asked for patience during the ownership transfer, I was willing to give them a chance. Realistically I figured the transfer of ownership wasn't going to happen overnight. I never threw a tantrum or tried to do a fast chargeback. I just stayed in close contact with Morgan & Daniel as the weeks passed by, making sure we were both on the same page.
Well they finally came through on their word, and my full $7900 refund was finally wired to my bank account. It's been fully processed, and I couldn't be more thankful. While the refund process took much longer than I hoped, it all worked out in the end. Daniel & Morgan really wanted to make this right for me & they were very accessible.
If you are still waiting for your refund, I'd say just give them a chance. I'd be shocked if everyone who wanted a refund didn't receive theirs soon. And if you can get a refund, I don't see any reason not to.
So what were the lessons I learned from all this? Well you've heard them before...
1) Never preorder a pin again.
2) Never let dream theme hype influence your decision making.
3) Never buy a pin without playing it first.
4) After you've come so close to losing your money, you quickly realize that spending $8K on a pin is just plain stupid.
This whole experience for the last 2 years has left me pretty jaded. I won't even consider buying anything new for a while now. I'm just turned off in general. There's no rush to buy any of these new games. No more LEs for me either, it's just a marketing ploy to get you to buy now. No more new companies. No more drama for me. If I can't buy a pin today & have it shipped tomorrow, then no thanks.
With that said, I really think the new Heighway owners are going to turn things around. In my opinion, they seem genuine,, but that's no guarantee of success. I really hope they are able to mass produce these Alien pins at some point. But I think the most important thing is that they need to create a reliable quality product with excellent customer service & support. That's my main concern for the company. I wish them all the best, because Alien really looks like an awesome pin.
And most importantly, I hope every customer gets the pins & refunds they've been waiting on.