The bankruptcy petition filed by Diamond Comic Distributors (see “Diamond Files for Reorganization”) lists 30 unsecured creditors owed from $9.2 million to $163,000, with Penguin Random House the largest creditor and Bandai and NECA the next two.
Debts and assets are both described with ranges of $50 to $100 million. The petition states that funds will be available for distribution to unsecured creditors.
PRH, Diamond’s supplier for comics and graphic novels from Marvel, IDW, and Dark Horse, is owed $9,202,181. Bandai Co. Ltd., which supplies Diamond division Alliance Game Distributors with the highly successful Bandai TCGs, including One Piece, is owed $4,348,743; and NECA, which owns WizKids, for which Alliance is the sole hobby distributor on some lines, is owed $2,682,994.
On the comic side of the house, other key suppliers listed include Simon & Schuster, which is owed $600,145; Lunar Distribution, Diamond’s supplier for comics and graphic novels from Image, which is owed $496,967; VIZ Media, which is owed $421,205; Titan Publishing Group Ltd., owed $357,417; Dynamic Forces, Inc. (Dynamite), owed $217,318; and Udon Entertainment, owed $202,694.
Comic companies not listed in this creditor list include BOOM! Studios, still a Diamond distribution client although it has planned to move to PRH this summer (see “PRH Taking Over BOOM! Distribution”), and DC, which supplies Diamond UK. Any money owed those companies must have been in amounts below the top 30 creditors, or secured (Diamond has not yet filed its schedule of secured creditors).
Alliance also has major creditors in addition to Bandai and NECA. Wizards of the Coast is owed $914,602 (parent Hasbro is also owed $1,064,378); Catalyst Games Lab is owed $401,483; The Army Painter ApS is owed $386,926; Square Enix (which in addition to games to Alliance likely also sells manga, in smaller quantities, to Diamond) is owed $314.296; The Pokemon Company International is owed $280,375; and Publisher Services, Inc. (PSI) is owed $223,141.
In addition to Hasbro (and presumably NECA, which supplied Diamond in addition to WizKids products to Alliance), merch companies also have their share of the debts, with Little Buddy LLC owed $684,628; Bandai Namco Toys & Collectibles owed $576,072; Beast Kingdom Co., Ltd., owed $237,903; Funko, LLC owed $237,632; and Super7, Inc., owed $163,687.
The bankruptcy petition also reveals more than has been previously known about the company’s corporate structure. It lists four companies: Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc., Diamond Select Toys & Collectibles, LLC, Comic Holdings, Inc., and Comic Exporters, Inc. Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. is owned 99% by SG Resource LLC, and 1% by Stephen A. Geppi Revocable Trust. Diamond Select Toys & Collectibles is owned 99% by DST Investments, LLC, and 1% by Stephen A. Geppi Revocable Trust, Comic Exporters, Inc., and Diamond Comic Holdings, Inc., are wholly owned by Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. Alliance Games Distributors, Collectible Grading Authority, and Fandomworld were listed as other names used by Diamond.
Source: ICV2
