Alliance Entertainment has terminated the agreement to purchase Diamond Comic Distributors, the company said in an SEC filing. “On April 24, 2025, the Company sent a Notice of Termination to Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. (“Diamond”), terminating the previously executed Asset Purchase Agreement to acquire substantially all of the assets of Diamond through a court-supervised bankruptcy process,” the filing said. “The termination was effective immediately.”
This is the latest surprising development in the drama surrounding the auction for Diamond’s assets, including Alliance Game Distributors and Diamond Select Toys. Alliance Entertainment was declared the winner on the day of the bankruptcy auction; Diamond later changed its mind and declared a joint bid from Universal Distribution, LLC, and NECA and WizKids parent Ad Populum, LLC the winner; Alliance Entertainment sued; and a short time later the judge in the bankruptcy case approved the sale of the company to Alliance (see “Bankruptcy Court Approves Diamond Sale”).
Alliance Entertainment did not state the basis for terminating its bid in the SEC filing.
The back-up bidder at the auction was the joint bid from Canadian distributor Universal Distribution, LLC, and NECA and WizKids parent Ad Populum, LLC (see “Back-up Bidders in Place”). If Alliance Entertainment is out of the picture, the back-up bid would presumably be the auction winner.
It’s unclear what role the trade war launched by the U.S. government on April 2, which is having a profound effect on parts of the game and merch businesses, had on the situation, if any.
Source: ICV2
