Aereo Just Can’t Let Go

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aereo-fork

Poor Aereo. Despite the clear risks in their business followed by a resounding Supreme Court defeat, the corporate remnants and creditors aren’t prepared to simply cut their losses and move on. Has this new litigation precluded TiVo from acquiring certain assets… or will it merely tarnish them? From NASDAQ:

The already contentious bankruptcy of defunct TV-streaming service Aereo Inc. turned even more so this week with the filing of a lawsuit accusing major broadcasters of chilling the bidding in an asset sale intended to raise money for Aereo’s creditors. The suit, filed Monday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York, says the broadcasters “have aggressively pursued litigation strategies that are objectively baseless” and served no purpose other than to hurt Aereo.

7 thoughts on “Aereo Just Can’t Let Go”

  1. Aero is in bankruptcy so it’s their creditors who won’t be paid NOT their investors. That’s the reason for the lawsuit. The investors (venture capitalist) unfortunately have lost their investment. As for Aero the odds of success were against them as most startups fail – something like 90%.

  2. The major creditors and investors are often synonymous, one in the same for startups and initiatives ike these… However, I changed up the terminology to mirror the NASDAQ coverage as I’m not privvy to the Aereo details. Not sure the guys leasing them space and office furniture, for example, would go down this path on their own. So I imagine many have made a claim and are obviously dissapointed with the auction results, hence tilting at windmills. Better to divvy up those legal expenses as, from my limited perspective, it seems like a tough road to hoe. But par for the course.

    (Speaking of which, against my better judgement I had invested a very small amount in a technology penny stock a few years back … which has just entered into bankruptcy proceedings. As a shareholder, I’ll recoup nothing. But their creditors will recoup a bit thru liquidation and such. Maybe related, four of my last five employers have been acquired with varying degrees of ROI and I’ve consulted a number of startups. Lastly, I feel for my pals on the ground at GigaOm – not sure how the company burned thru $8m, plus revenues, in 12 months. Head count must have been way too high and they obviously assumed the venture capital would keep flowing.)

  3. I remembered the details as I thought it was funny that the Broadcasters themselves could be one of the largest creditors! :) From the WSJ:

    Aereo’s largest debt in its bankruptcy is a damages payment expected to be awarded in the long-running litigation with the broadcasters, which the company has said could run into the tens of millions of dollars. In addition, Aereo owes an estimated $4.2 million to vendors, suppliers, landlords, employees and others. The company, which raised nearly $97 million in venture capital during its 3 1/2 years of existence from backers including Barry Diller, has no secured debt, a rarity in a bankruptcy case.

    The assets that were up for sale, Aereo says in the suit, “have numerous substantial and valuable lawful uses but, through their campaign of sham litigation, the New York Broadcasters caused numerous well-capitalized potential purchasers to decline to participate in the auction of the Debtor’s assets.”

    http://www.wsj.com/articles/aereo-accuses-broadcasters-of-chilling-bidding-in-asset-sale-1426018276

  4. Bankruptcy judge approved Aereo’s fire sale today:

    http://www.wsj.com/articles/judge-signs-off-on-aereo-sales-to-tivo-rpx-1426105845

    Interesting, their biggest debt is expected damages to the broadcasters. Which maybe sheds more light on their new lawsuit… against those very same broadcasters. So they presumably hope retain their remaining (and newfound $2m) cash to pay their real creditors, instead of potentially forking over some/all to their nemisis.

    Aereo’s largest debt in its bankruptcy is a damages payment expected to be awarded in the litigation with the broadcasters, which the company has said could run into the tens of millions of dollars. In addition, Aereo owes an estimated $4.2 million to vendors, suppliers, landlords, employees and others.

  7. Never being a fan of the Aereo business model that was obviously doomed to failure from the beginning, the whole sorry story reminds me somehow of poor Mr. Newton in “The Man Who Fell to Earth”.

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