Company's Expansion into Geek Exacting a Price

The list (and amended list) of top unsecured creditors of superstore chain Hastings (which declared bankruptcy Monday, see “Three Weinshanker Companies File Bankruptcy”) shows the size of its relationships with suppliers of geek merchandise, and the money at risk as the company seeks an investor or buyer that would allow it to continue to operate.

Although the top four creditors were all home video companies, owed from around $3 to $4 million each, and the fifth was Penguin Random House, owed $2.6 million, the sixth biggest creditor was figure maker Funko, owed $2.59 million, with other companies in the business of geek culture following. Here are the companies from geek categories on Hastings’ list of its largest creditors, along with the amount owed.

$2,589,509 Funko

$1,644,430 Diamond Book Distributors

$ 836,981 ACD Distribution

$ 259,683 Ultra Pro

$ 208,522 Publisher Services Inc. (PSI)

Hastings and its related companies filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which allows it to reorganize under protection of the court. The company indicated it expects to make payments to its unsecured creditors, so the big question will be whether or not Hastings is able to sell or find an investor for its operations, and at what price. It would be fairly typical in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the unsecured creditors to receive a percentage of what’s owed, for some leases to be renegotiated, and for the business to continue. But based on Hastings’ public comments, that’s not going to happen without a substantial infusion of capital. Hastings has lost over $25 million in the last two years, so it’s a bit of a lift.

Court filings did reveal a $90 million debtor-in-possession line of credit from Bank of America, which will give Hastings cash with which to manage the bankruptcy process and keep operating during the efforts to sell the company, a sign that the bank believes that a significant sale price is likely.