Solid-state hard drive maker OCZ Technology Group Inc said it is going to file for bankruptcy and subsequently sell all its assets to Toshiba. The company was unable to post any annual profit in the last five years.
In the recent years, the demand for solid-state drives (SSDs) has been at an all-time high from mobile device makers. However, San Jose, California-based OCZ is facing inadequate supply of NAND flash memory chips that are used in SSDs.
OCZ has a market capitalization of $43 million and it managed to generate revenue of $334 million in the latest fiscal year. The company also reported the loss of $125.8 million.
Shares of OCZ also tumbled early 80 percent on Wednesday after the announcement. The shares, which trade at NASDAQ under the ticker OCZ, closed 74.60 percent down at $0.16.
Once the final documentation with Toshiba and Hercules Technology Growth Capital Inc is completed, the company will file a petition for bankruptcy. The petition will be reviewed by a judge that will determine the final acquisition. Hercules Technology Growth Capital Inc is one of its prime lenders.
"The filing is not surprising. We had estimated that OCZ had cash for a quarter or so and didn't see any natural buyers. We assumed in any asset sale or capital infusion ... shareholders would be substantially diluted at best and, very possibly, left with nothing," said Longbow Research analyst Joseph Wittine.
On Wednesday, OCZ reported that Hercules had debarred it from using its depository accounts at Silicon Valley Bank and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association.
The acquisition includes other conditions like retention of employees too.
