Found this while browsing GAF. https://twitter.com/DDInvesting/status/287314215671320576

Hopefully it's true. Warner Bros seems like it would be the best place for Saints Row/Darksiders.

EDIT: Polygon Article. http://www.polygon.com/2013/1/3/3832834/thq-lenders-object-to-quick-sale-want-game-franchises-sold-piecemeal

Scorpion in my Saint's Row? It's more likely than you think!

Warner Bros. has been doing good things the past few years. They'd do good things with these franchises.

WB knows what's up.

That'd be...

aight.

I read the article Polygon posted and it seems like there are five interested buyers who want to buy franchises individually instead of buying the company as a whole, and Warner Bros is just one of the interested companies.

@csl316 said:

Warner Bros. has been doing good things the past few years. They'd do good things with these franchises.

I agree. Seems like WB are trying hard to be a legitimate player in the gaming industry. They are doing smart by buying whole studios then rather wait for the studio to get dissolved.

I'd like to see a DC involved Red Faction Guerilla type of game. Don't know what character would do it justice really.. Robin, maybe? But I'd rather see something that's not Batman. Green Arrow, Deathstroke..

I would cry if RFG returned.

Boy it would be quite the coup if Microsoft snatched up Saints Row, wouldn't it? They'd instantly have a heavy-hitter franchise to leverage as an X-Box AAA exclusive alongside Gears, Halo, Forza and Fable.

Failing that, the Saints Row franchise would make an interesting addition to practically anybody's portfolio, which makes the identity of the other four potential suitors interesting to speculate upon. Ubisoft, Square-Enix, EA and Activison are all likely suspects here and boy, I really hope neither Activision nor Ubi gets it. Both would likely run the franchise into the ground with annual installments and then toss it into the dustbin like a used juice box. I imagine Squeenix, EA and Warner Bros. would show more restraint.

As for the other franchises......eh, I don't really care. I doubt Darksiders or Red Faction will be continued after their latest installments' lackluster sales, I'm ambivalent towards Company of Heroes, Metro and Homefront and South Park will go where it will go.

Am I crazy or are WB published games 10 bucks more for no reason? I know Batman and MK were 69.99.

Am I crazy or are WB published games 10 bucks more for no reason? I know Batman and MK were 69.99.

@DarthOrange said:

@laserbolts said:

Am I crazy or are WB published games 10 bucks more for no reason? I know Batman and MK were 69.99.

Who the hell sold you them at the price? They have all been $59.99 for me.

Dirty ol Walmart those greasy bastards.

@DarthOrange said:

@laserbolts said:

Am I crazy or are WB published games 10 bucks more for no reason? I know Batman and MK were 69.99.

Who the hell sold you them at the price? They have all been $59.99 for me.

Dirty ol Walmart those greasy bastards.

Who would pass up on the WWE and Saints Row licence

@DarthOrange:

Yes. Still weird though because games are normally 59.99 where I live.

@DarthOrange said:

@laserbolts said:

@DarthOrange said:

@laserbolts said:

Am I crazy or are WB published games 10 bucks more for no reason? I know Batman and MK were 69.99.

Who the hell sold you them at the price? They have all been $59.99 for me.

Dirty ol Walmart those greasy bastards.

Damn this is the first I hear of this. Wait are you by any chance in Canada?

Yup I bought Mortal Kombat at 69.99 and I'm not proud of it. That was a case of Warner fucking over us Canadians. Never again. We as a nation will stand together!

Judge backs THQ sale objections as Warner Bros comes sniffing

THQ will not be allowed to complete its pre-pack sale to Clearlake Capital, opening the door for a possible swoop by Warner Bros.

That’s because US Bankruptcy Judge Mary Walrath has ruled in favour of creditors who last week objected to the arrangement, arguing that the process prevented other interested parties getting their fair chance.

As a result THQ has not got the nod for its $37.5m bankruptcy loan.

Walrath shared creditor’s concerns that the proposed sale wasn’t even announced prior to the agreement with Clearlake, adding that around ten potential buyers have expressed interest since the collapse was made public.

“I am not convinced that we are under the gun to have a sale process by the 15th,” Walrath stated, as reported by BusinessWeek. “In the meantime I think the parties need to talk.”

Creditors also want bidders to be able to bid for specific IP without being forced to acquire other assets as “the individual titles may have substantial value”, they claim.

A lawyer for Warner Bros confirmed that the company “would be interested in evaluating THQ’s assets if the sale process is extended”.

MCV revealed in December that Ubisoft is also interested in a possible asset swoop.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/judge-backs-thq-sale-objections-as-warner-bros-comes-sniffing/0108910

It would be good if they bought THQ. It would be a big shame if franchises like Darksiders and Saints Row go to waste, so much more can be done with them.

I can't believe people think Warner Bros. are a good fit. Warner Bros. are a horrible company. They will take guys like Vigil and Volition and make them work on some DC comic book property rather than their own shit. Look at how they have treated Monolith, a developer who used to be fantastic. They were forced to make a very buggy and mechanically unremarkable multiplayer first-person shooter set in the Batman universe and recently, they did that Lord of the Rings-themed MOBA. Even Netherrealm, who made the utterly amazing Mortal Kombat reboot, are now being forced to make a DC focused fighting game, which I am sure will be fine but after MK9 being so good, I am gagging for more. Even Rocksteady, who started off with Urban Chaos: Riot Response (which was a great FPS) will never get to do a game like that again because they will be forced to pump out those bloody Batman games. Warner Bros. do not give a flying fuck about original IP (I dare you to name one from the past five years) and their DLC tactics are tacky to say the least (hundreds of pre-order costumes anyone.) I was shocked to hear that people thought this would be a good idea. Warner Bros are easily one of the worst.

@Vod_Crack: Nobody is being forced to do anything, where the hell are you getting this from?

@Nikoran said:

@Vod_Crack: Nobody is being forced to do anything, where the hell are you getting this from?

Do you really think that the likes of Infinity Ward/Treyarch want to keep banging out Call of Duty games? No, its because Activision make sure they do. Same sort of thing here.

@Vod_Crack: It's not the same, really. The Batman games aren't released year after year and I think Rocksteady are working on something totally different. It's nothing like Activision at all.

@Nikoran said:

@Vod_Crack: It's not the same, really. The Batman games aren't released year after year and I think Rocksteady are working on something totally different. It's nothing like Activision at all.

Really? http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2012/07/11/next-rocksteady-batman-game-set-in-silver-age.aspx Granted, article is pretty old but still.

@Vod_Crack said:

@Nikoran said:

@Vod_Crack: It's not the same, really. The Batman games aren't released year after year and I think Rocksteady are working on something totally different. It's nothing like Activision at all.

Really? http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2012/07/11/next-rocksteady-batman-game-set-in-silver-age.aspx Granted, article is pretty old but still.

I'd leave it until they release a fifth Batman game, then you can say they're being forced.

If WB was only interested in DC games they wouldn't have published Lollipop Chainsaw Bastion or Scribblenauts.

WB is a feel good publisher. As a developer...well...not so feel good. Let's hope if they get the IP they can get Volition and Vigil as well and not just the IP. Let's hope to god this happens.

@Ravenlight said:

Scorpion in my Saint's Row? It's more likely than you think!

I want Killbane in my Mortal Kombat.

Whatever it takes to get us another Metro game.

@Vod_Crack said:

I can't believe people think Warner Bros. are a good fit. Warner Bros. are a horrible company. They will take guys like Vigil and Volition and make them work on some DC comic book property rather than their own shit. Look at how they have treated Monolith, a developer who used to be fantastic. They were forced to make a very buggy and mechanically unremarkable multiplayer first-person shooter set in the Batman universe and recently, they did that Lord of the Rings-themed MOBA. Even Netherrealm, who made the utterly amazing Mortal Kombat reboot, are now being forced to make a DC focused fighting game, which I am sure will be fine but after MK9 being so good, I am gagging for more. Even Rocksteady, who started off with Urban Chaos: Riot Response (which was a great FPS) will never get to do a game like that again because they will be forced to pump out those bloody Batman games. Warner Bros. do not give a flying fuck about original IP (I dare you to name one from the past five years) and their DLC tactics are tacky to say the least (hundreds of pre-order costumes anyone.) I was shocked to hear that people thought this would be a good idea. Warner Bros are easily one of the worst.

Given this is about buying THQ assets, original IP went out the window from the getgo. Regardless I'd say EA or Activision give them a run for their money in terms of worst.

@Miketakon said:

If WB was only interested in DC games they wouldn't have published Lollipop Chainsaw Bastion or Scribblenauts.

Ok fair enough, it is crazy that they had anything to do with Lollipop Chainsaw.

@Vod_Crack said:

Ok fair enough, it is crazy that they had anything to do with Lollipop Chainsaw.

Yes it was a risky move. I guess it paid off.

EDIT. The will be Auction on Jan 22.

After adjourning its first hearing today, THQ reconvened at 3:00PM and announced that a compromised was made among various parties. A form of order has yet to be presented but the general takeaways:

Bids are due 9am January 22nd
Auction will be held 3pm on January 22nd
Sale Hearing January 23rd at 9am
The auction will allow for bidders to bid on only certain assets (titles, studios, etc) in the auction

Other details from the hearing concerned the minimum overbid which was reduced as well as the extension of Clearlake Capital's DIP term loan to January 25th (as an over-advance line).

In the morning hearing, it was announced that Clearlake Capital's bid would remove the $10M 2% note they originally had offered in exchange for extending the auction deadline.One thing to note: It remains to be seen how much secured debt (and for that matter assumed liabilities) will there actually be on the auction date. It was noted in the hearing this morning the company has begun the "slow pay" its bills which would alleviate need for cash but in theory increased assumed liabilities to a purchaser. As has been noted in the hearing, Clearlake can pick and choose which liabilities its assuming, but their counsel did note that it would be a more concrete number (to determine overbids) at the auction.

Currently bonds are trading in the 15-16 context. I had heard from traders on Friday that bonds were difficult to find (the issue is only $100M) but some bonds have traded this morning.

For bondholders, the only recovery (under Clearlake's stalking horse bids) they were going to receive was the $10M promissory note which seems to have been pulled away. If any of the parties involved (so far EA, Warner Brothers have been named in court) bid for all or just some of the titles, there is a chance bond holders could see a recovery here. Exact bid procedures have yet to be filed so I do not have a good assessment on how bids will be evaluated.

For instance, what happens if two studios are purchased for an aggregate consideration more than Clearlake's bid but the remaining studios need to be wound down? That may actually drain resources from the estate for wind down expenses.

For what its worth, when I first saw Clearlake's bid I wanted to be an LP in their fund because they would make a fortune off their purchase price. Given the way cash flows will begin to pick up (and possibly roll in if they are successful, not to mention cash already overseas) at THQI after their two releases in the first half of this year, with which a lot of developmental costs have been already spent, the return to Clearlake would have been impressive.

A few questions remain: Where are the massive swings in potential unsecured liabilities (from the first day affidavit) from Europe arising from? No one has given me a good answer on that. Why hasn't bond holders (or strategics for that matter) stepped up with their own DIP?

As we get more answers, we will update readers, especially after new items hit the docket.

Source: http://www.distressed-debt-investing.com/2013/01/distressed-debt-thq-bankruptcy-update.html