1UP editor explains why bankruptcy is a good thing

Interested in the whole Ziff Davis Media bankruptcy hub-bub that’s been going around lately? Then here is 1UP Editor Simon Cox to clear up the entire matter for us, and how we shouldn’t really worry about today’s more popular videogame magazines. Bankruptcy is a scary word, yes, but for 1UP, it’s anything but. Check out the full article for more info.

When the news broke out that Ziff Davis Media had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in New York – Chapter 11 meaning Reorganizational Bankruptcy – one couldn’t help but be worried about 1UP and the gaming publications EGM, Games for Windows, and PC Magazine. But what does it really mean? To clear it all up comes Simon Cox, one of 1UP’s own editors. Let’s see just what he has to say about this entire matter.

What is this bankruptcy issue all about? Well, it seems that Ziff Davis Media had been saddled with quite an enormous amount of debt for some time now. And it was so large that it put a massive crimp on 1UP’s profits as a company.

Sick of not being able to invest a massive amount for their own development, the company soon brought all the bondholders of the debt together. They asked them if they wanted to turn that debt into equity in Ziff Davis.

This meant that instead of having to pay the massive debt, Ziff Davis Media would instead give partial ownership rights to those it owes money to. And to 1UP’s joy, the bondholders agreed. Who? All of them.

And that’s not all. Besides agreeing to the deal, the bondholders went the extra mile and slapped on some cash on top of the debt-smashing proposal. Of course, this lifted that huge financial burden that 1UP had mounted on its back.

They now had funds to make their day-to-day operations just a bit easier on the wallet. So, in essence, not only will 1UP’s profits be put into more good use, the site and its publications will likely improve.

As for the current state of 1UP, Simon Cox has this to say:

So even though that word is unpleasant, and a bit scary, you’ll find few glum faces around the 1UP offices. Next year is the peak of the current console cycle, and we’re going into it in a much better financial state than we have been in in a long time.

Via 1UP