Riverbed Technology has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with a view to implementing a "prepackaged" financial restructuring plan to eliminate debts of $1.1bn following struggles caused by the pandemic.
The SD-WAN and WAN optimisation biz first signalled intent to enter into a Restructuring Support Agreement last month, which it said is fully supported by all its voting lenders, as well as private equity majority owners, Thoma Bravo LLP and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (OTPP).
In court papers [PDF] lodged with the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, Riverbed president and CEO Dan Smoot said the "best option" is to "right-size its capital structure and position itself for long-term success."
"Like many similar businesses, Riverbed faced significant COVID-19 related headwinds in 2020, including global supply chain disruptions and labor shortages, which adversely affected Riverbed's financial performance," said Smoot in supporting document [PDF]. "With factories shut down and stay-at-home orders instituted across the globe, Riverbed faced challenges maintaining its global supply chain as well as driving sales through a suddenly fully remote salesforce."
The limitations caused by the pandemic and debt obligations – it was bought by Thoma Bravo and OTPP at the end of 2014 for around $3.6bn – "significantly constrained liquidity through 2020," the CEO added.
"Compounding these challenges, one of Riverbed's key markets – the wide area network...
Read Full Story: https://www.theregister.com/2021/11/18/riverbed_technologies_chapter11/
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