Thread: Dick Smith stores going bust?

About three weeks before Christmas I read in the Business section of the Herald that they were having trouble servicing debt and were offering big discounts in December to move stock.
Happened to walk into the Majura store and picked up a Panasonic telly for a damned good price, and todays Herald mentioned the sale didn't really help too much.

From what I can gather, Dick Smith sold the company to Woolworths, Woolworths sold it to a private equity firm Anchorage Capital Partners, who, 12 months later floated it on the market for $520 million. To pay Woolworths, Anchorage sold off most of the stock. After floating, they took out bank loans to buy new stock. $ 120 million worth. When things started to go sour, the Banks & suppliers stopped extending credit.

Dick Smith: What is wrong with business as usual for such a high-profile company? - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Originally Posted by bob10

From what I can gather, Dick Smith sold the company to Woolworths, Woolworths sold it to a private equity firm Anchorage Capital Partners, who, 12 months later floated it on the market for $520 million. To pay Woolworths, Anchorage sold off most of the stock. After floating, they took out bank loans to buy new stock. $ 120 million worth. When things started to go sour, the Banks & suppliers stopped extending credit.

So now the business is probably worth…..jack nothing…….

Originally Posted by scarry

So now the business is probably worth?..jack nothing??.

Around 20 cents per share when trading was halted I think, down from 2.20 so,etching when floated earlier this year, so pretty close...

Originally Posted by scarry

So now the business is probably worth?..jack nothing??.

And should be snapped up by some rich china man, who, with a simple business plan, and not trying to compete with the big players, [ A la Dick Smith, using the K.I.S.S. principle ], should turn a profit again.

What stinks is they are now not honoring gift vouchers. What a rort, selling gift vouchers leading up to christmas that are now worthless.

Dick Smith gift card debacle | Customer told:

Isn't it a criminal offence to trade while insolvent? Seems that is what they have been doing.

John

Originally Posted by mikehzz

What stinks is they are now not honoring gift vouchers. What a rort, selling gift vouchers leading up to christmas that are now worthless.

Dick Smith gift card debacle | Customer told:

I agree. Some how I can't believe management didn't know where the company was headed. Now, I don't pretend to understand big business. But, Dick Smith sold to Woolworths for $20 million, nothing wrong with that. Woolworths sold to Anchorage capitol for , I think, $50 million. That seems ok. Anchorage , using the good will [ think that's what it's called] in the Dick Smith name, float the company for $520 million. Now, who got rich out of that? Certainly not the share holders, who bought in good faith.

I am probably naive, but there seems to be something rotten in Denmark. It's almost as though some smart operators traded on the good name of Dick Smith, raised $ 520 million in the float, then took the profits, and trashed the business, without the slightest thought for the people working for them, or the share holders, whom you would have to say, were conned . As I said, I don't know about big business, so if I'm completely wrong, just let me know, nicely. At the least, it was incompetence. At worst......