DataPlay leaves large debt
Boulder company files for Chapter 11 protection, owes up to $50 million
By Janet Forgrieve, Rocky Mountain News
October 23, 2002
Boulder-based DataPlay Inc., which closed its doors and fired its remaining 120 employees earlier this month, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
During its four-year life, the company raised $120 million in capital to develop its quarter-sized discs and tiny drivers, which it expected to revolutionize the recorded music industry.
In its bankruptcy filings, the privately held company estimates that it owes between $10 million and $50 million to more than 200 creditors. The filing also says the company's assets total somewhere between $1 million and $10 million.
The debt listed on its roster of top 20 unsecured creditors totals almost $14 million. Unsecured creditors typically include landlords, vendors and suppliers.
One of the unsecured creditors is Flat Irons North LLC, which built, owns and leases the two 50,000-square-foot east Boulder buildings that served as DataPlay's headquarters.
Flat Irons President Bill Reynolds said back rent totals about $792,000.
"They haven't paid us for a while, so there's a lot of money they owe us," Reynolds said.
He expects to find a new tenant for the buildings next year, he said. Reynolds declined say how much DataPlay was paying in rent, but did say he expects to get significantly less from the next tenant.
The largest unsecured creditor listed is Hong Kong-based Vanco Technology Ltd., at $3.9 million.
DataPlay's staff at one point numbered about 240. The staff was cut in half during a round of layoffs in July.
When it closed its doors on Oct. 11, DataPlay said it hoped to find a buyer for either the whole company or at least the technology it has developed.
Phone calls Tuesday from the News to DataPlay founder and CEO Steve Volk, board member Tom Washing and lawyer Glenn W. Merrick were not returned.
According to the company's Web site, music players using DataPlay technology are still available for between $320 and $350.
