Tandberg Data files for bankruptcy

The company was forced to file for bankruptcy after failing to repay a lapsed loan to one of its creditors, Wall Street-based investment firm Cyrus Capital.

The terms of the loan were such that should Tandberg Data not have sufficient capital to repay the loan, it would have no alternative than to file for bankruptcy for its holding company, Tandberg Data ASA and Tandberg Storage.

In January 2008, Tandberg Data CEO Pat Clarke instigated a successful rights issue and operational cost reduction, together with a review of the corporate strategy, but it has still not been enough to avert bankruptcy. The company blames the global financial crisis for its inability to deal with its debt burden.

After considering all other alternatives, including a new rights issue, Cyrus Capital will now control the assets of the company. Its operational headquarters, currently in Oslo, will be moved to Dortmund.

Aside from the ownership changes, the company and its Australian sales partners claim to be unaffected.

"Nothing changes really, except the ownership of the company, but it is business as usual," said H.B. Tan of ACA Pacific. "In fact, I would view the developments as a positive step, mainly because the venture capital firm (Cyrus Capital) is much more financially sound." 

Meanwhile, Mick Brown, who heads up the storage division of Sydney-based distributor T Data in Castle Hill said it is "business as usual from our perspective."

"As far as we are concerned this will not affect our customers in any way," he said. "Until we hear any different that is how we will proceed."

Lim Cheng Chuan, Country Manager for Tandberg Data in Australia and New Zealand, was a little less forthcoming.

"Unfortunately, I cannot comment on the news as we have been instructed by our corporate head office in Europe to direct all enquiries to them."  

Representatives from Tandberg's other Australian distributors, Multimedia Technology and datastor were unavailable for comment.