GAME to shut down 43 shops

[GamerMan316]

GAME will die this week without £180m rescue - Report
Retailer faces Armageddon this weekend without buyout, claims Sunday Times

GAME Group will go into administration this week if it doesn't secure £180 million to pay its creditors, according to The Sunday Times.

The specialist retailer, which has been the subject of multiple doomsday reports over the past few weeks, reportedly has a £21m rent payment due on Sunday, more than £10m owed in deferred VAT, £40m owed to video game suppliers and a £12m wage bill shortly requiring payment.

Any potential investor in the company would have to pay the firm's six banks - including Royal Bank of Scotland - £100m, as well as the above mentioned debt, reports MCV.

Both US giant Walmart and Comet owner OpCapita have reportedly tabled offers for the company, though lenders are said to be sceptical that the latter has the means to rescue the firm.

In recent weeks GAME has lost the support of Nintendo, EA, Sega, Capcom, Tecmo Koei, Microsoft and Activision, meaning it hasn't been able to offer recent releases such as Mass Effect 3, Street Fighter X Tekken and FIFA Street, and won't be stocking upcoming games including Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City and Kinect Star Wars.

The retailer said in a statement last week: "The Board of GAME is working actively to resolve these issues as quickly as possible. This includes ongoing discussions with suppliers, seeking access to the original facility or alternative sources of funding, and reviewing the position of all of its assets in the UK and international territories.

"It is uncertain whether any of the solutions currently being explored by the Board will be successful or will result in any value being attributed to the shares of the Company."

[Windedprism]

Wow that's grim.

[GamerMan316]

GAME could resurrect as new company - without Gamestation

[GamerMan316]

GAME officially files for administration

[Jurassic Parky]

Went into my local store today to see if I could find any bargains, most stuff was still full price.

[Jaynestown]

I did the same yesterday, give it a week or so!

[GamerMan316]

Loads of bargains in my local Gamestation, new releases are still full price but pretty much everything else is on sale and in the two or so weeks they've got left i'd expect even bigger sales.

[Handshakes]

I always thought Game was owned by Gamestop. Weird.

[GamerMan316]

Today GAME have suspended the use of Reward Cards and closed a bunch of shops!

[GamerMan316]

GAME administration to end tomorrow with RBS as buyer - report

The Royal Bank of Scotland will buy GAME out of administration - and it could happen as soon as tomorrow, a new report has declared.

UK trade publication MCV heard the news from "multiple sources".

RBS, which led GAME's money lending syndicate, had been tipped by national press as the favourite to acquire GAME.

But should the report run true, questions will be asked about RBS' rumoured block to a bid made by Comet's parent company OpCapita for GAME last week.

GAME entered administration days ago. Administrators PwC shut 277 stores and revealed plans to let go 2014 staff by the end of the week.

In Ireland, a sit-in protest was held by GAME staff worried about redundancy pay.

Should RBS buy GAME out of administration tomorrow, the business may not necessarily return to life as it once was. The terms of the deal could yet be brutal.



A failed business buying a failed business, awesome!

[GamerMan316]

GAME's administrators are now allowing the use of rewards cards but only against pre-owned stock.

[BackupLight]

RBS is around 4/5ths owned by British Taxpayers. So does that mean we get discount on GAME products?! sh*t hot!

[GamerMan316]

RBS is around 4/5ths owned by British Taxpayers. So does that mean we get discount on GAME products?! sh*t hot!

That's about as likely as Steven Seagal winning an Oscar!   

[ShadowSnake]

That's about as likely as Steven Seagal winning an Oscar!   

Worlds greatest travesty, I mean, Under Siege, Really.

Gamestation in my hometown has now closed and transferred all stock to the nearby Game, streamlining has begun.

[GamerMan316]

This news broke yesterday morning so a lot of people thinks it's an April Fool though quite a few sites mentioned this on Saturday too.

Confirmed: GAME saved
"No plans" for further store closures, says new owner

Administrator PwC has confirmed OpCapita's purchase of GAME UK.

Baker Acquisitions Limited, an entity advised by private investment company OpCapita, has picked up GAME's UK assets, including all 333 UK GAME and Gamestation stores that remained open during administration.

The acquisition brings the UK business out of administration, which it has been in since last Monday. Baker said today it will provide GAME with "the capital it needs to trade on a normalised basis", and that the jobs of nearly 3200 GAME employees have been saved.

Baker will also seek to re-employ a "small number" of staff who previously worked at GAME's head office but were made redundant last week. There are "no plans" for any further store closures, it said.

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed, but media reports indicated GAME UK was bought for a nominal £1 fee. The cost comes from paying off the £85 million debt owed to GAME Group's syndicate of lenders, led by The Royal Bank of Scotland.

OpCapita managing partner Henry Jackson said: "We are pleased to have reached agreement with the Administrator. We strongly believe there is a place on the high street for a video gaming specialist and GAME is the leading brand in a £2.8 billion market in the UK.

"We have assembled a strong team of experienced industry operators to implement the programme of operational change that is needed. There is a huge amount to do but we look forward to the challenge of restoring GAME's fortunes in partnership with its employees and suppliers."

PwC partner Mike Jervis added: "We are delighted to be able to secure this business sale and provide some much needed stability for customers, suppliers and employees alike in these uncertain times. The support of these stakeholders has been crucial over the last week and I would like to thank them for their support throughout this difficult period.

"This means that the GAME brand will not be another one of the retail names disappearing from the high street in the current difficult climate."