Hipcricket

On May 14, 2015, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware confirmed the Plan of Reorganization in which ESW Capital received 100% of the new equity in the reorganized company.  ESW Capital also provided debtor-in-possession financing to fund the Debtor’s operations and enable the Debtor to consummate the Plan of Reorganization.

In early 2014, Canaccord Genuity was engaged to evaluate strategic alternatives for Hipcricket.  Due to its deteriorating financial condition and pending litigation, Hipcricket determined to pursue a §363 transaction (a sale of assets through a voluntary petition under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code) with a stalking horse bidder.  Hipcricket subsequently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on January 20, 2015, listing US$67 million in pre-petition assets.

After an opportunity for third parties to put forth competing bids, the final proposal from ESW Capital resulted in an increase in transaction value of over 50% compared to the stalking horse bid and increased the estimated recovery to unsecured creditors to approximately 20% compared to an estimated 2% under the stalking horse bid.

Hipcricket is a leading provider of end-to-end, data driven mobile engagement and analytics solutions that empower brands, agencies and media companies to drive customer engagement, loyalty and sales.  Hipcricket’s fully developed, scalable and user friendly AD LIFE® SaaS platform creates measurable, real-time, one-to-one relationships between companies and their current or prospective customers, using text messages, multimedia messages, mobile web sites, mobile applications, mobile coupons, quick response codes and via its proprietary mobile ad network.

This transaction is another example of the firm’s capabilities and its commitment to fostering deep collaboration within its investment banking platform, particularly the Technology Group and U.S Debt Finance & Restructuring Group.