The painful near-end saga of UK video game retailer GAME came to a rather swift and not terrible conclusion over this past weekend, with word that OpCapita's Baker Acquisitions Unlimited will taking the plunge and rescuing the company from its overwhelming debt.
With the deal in place, GAME has now exited the UK's administration process, and will keep the 333 remaining locations it has, along with the 3,200 employees who survived the first, massive round of layoffs following the beginning of administration.
The exact terms of the deal to keep GAME going were not disclosed, but a number of different outlets have cited the likelihood that the company was "officially" purchased for as little as £1, as OpCapita's real purchase was the previous debt incurred by GAME. That debt is estimated in upwards of £85 million.
The saving of GAME ensures that the UK's formerly largest video game retailer continues to exist, albeit in a somewhat hobbled capacity. GAME's website is back open for business, and GAME Reward cards have been reactivated. Unfortunately, other reports explain that gift cards purchased prior to the administration will likely never be redeemable.
While the franchise is saved, the former workers of GAME are still fighting against denied notice period and redundancy payments. Previously, former GAME workers in Ireland were the sole group to take issue with this, but over the weekend former UK employees were given the same news. Despite promises from GAME's administration firm, PricewaterhouseCooper, that the Irish employees would receive news on their complaints soon, there has been no change, and reportedly the Irish employees are still staging their sit-ins.
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