Mad Catz announced today that their video game accessories empire will be ending all operations in Canada. The announcement was made earlier today by the Board of Directors, and came shortly after the American parent company, Mad Catz Interactive Inc., filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in the United States.
In Canada, Mad Catz operated out of an office on Explorer Drive in Mississauga, and worked under the company name 1328158 Ontario Incorporated. 1328158 Ontario is entering voluntary assignment in bankruptcy because of Canada’s Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. Due to this, PriceWaterHouseCoopers Inc. will oversee the liquidation and distribution of the company’s remaining assets.
Today’s announcement comes on the relative heels of an attempt by Mad Catz to survive and revive the rhythm music genre as the distributor of 2015’s Rock Band 4. That attempt ended 6 months after the launch of Rock Band 4, when Performance Designed Products took over the Rock Band 4 distribution duties at the apparent request of the game’s software developer: Harmonix.
Around the same time, the Board of Directors at Mad Catz also announced that they were creating a special team to explore various ways of ensuring their shareholders would see profit as the company struggled to survive. If possible this would have included the complete sale of the company; however, they opted for voluntary assignment in bankruptcy after considering various other factors and strategies.
Karen McGinnis, the President and Chief Executive Officer, explained the situation to the Nasdaq Global Newswire. “Regrettably and notwithstanding that for a significant amount of time the Company has been actively pursuing its strategic alternatives, including various near-term financing alternatives such as bank financing and equity infusions, as well as potential sales of certain assets of the Company or a sale of the Company in its entirety, the Company has been unable to find a satisfactory solution to its cash liquidity problems. The Board of Directors and management would like to acknowledge the outstanding efforts of the Company’s employees in support of its business, especially during the time that the Company faced financial difficulties. The Company would also like to thank the vendors and professional service providers who have supported the Company’s efforts during this time.”
At this point, all of the directors and officers of the company have resigned, and their North American operations will completely cease effective immediately. This officially ends 28 years of Mad Catz accessories for the personal computers and various videogame console generations.
