[Nettime-bold] Etoys to file for bankruptcy and shut down web site

["Felipe Rodriquez" <felipe@xs4all.nl>]

Source Bloomberg

EToys to File for Bankruptcy and Shut Down Web Site (Update1)

     Santa Monica, California, Feb. 26 (Bloomberg) -- EToys Inc.,
which began last year as the largest Internet toy store, said it
will file for bankruptcy protection in the next five to 10 days
because it has been unable to find a buyer or more financing.
     The company will run out of cash by March 31 and is firing
its remaining employees, spokesman Gary Gerdemann said. The
Internet retailer will close its Web site on March 8. EToys said
its shares have no value and its stock will be delisted from the
Nasdaq market.
     EToys, which has never had a profit, frantically sought new
financing or a merger partner in recent months because of
disappointing holiday sales and dwindling cash. The company hired
Goldman, Sachs & Co. for advice and since mid-January worked on
payment options with a group of unsecured creditors owed $110
million.
     ``We did not find a buyer for the company as a whole, and
that brings us to today,'' Gerdemann said. EToys is shutting down
the site next week so it can ship all orders before the company
closes, he said.
     EToys said it will continue to seek buyers for its assets,
including its distribution centers in Virginia and California,
proprietary programs and technology, and content on its BabyCenter
and ParentCenter advise sites for parents.
     EToys had $274 million in outstanding debt at the end of
January, substantially more than the value of its assets, the
company said. The Chapter 11 bankruptcy will be filed in Delaware,
Gerdemann said.
     Shares of Santa Monica, California-based EToys fell 3 cents
to 9 cents before trading was halted pending news. They had fallen
99 percent in the past year.

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