It ain’t over until the soprano sings (cue the nearly 20 minute long Brunhilde’s Immolation Scene.)
It seemed that Alliance Entertainment’s $72 million bid for Diamond Comic Distributors, Alliance Game Distributors, Diamond Select Toys & Collectibles, and Collectible Grading Authority (CGA), as set during a bankruptcy auction, was all set to go through pending court approval. But a filing from Diamond on Saturday included a huge swerve: they now favor the $69 million combined bid from Universal Distribution and Ad Populum:
PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that, following the Debtors’ initial selection of AENT as the successful bidder, the Debtors currently believe, after consultation with the Consultation Parties, that Universal Distribution, LLC, and Ad Populum, LLC, which were initially jointly designed as back-up bidders at the Auction, should be the successful bidders. The Debtors’ proposed order with Universal Distribution, LLC, is attached hereto as Exhibit A (the “Universal Revised Proposed Order”). A redline of the Universal Revised Proposed Order compared against the proposed order filed with the Sale Motion is attached hereto as Exhibit B. The Debtors revised proposed order with Ad Populum, LLC, is attached hereto as Exhibit C (the “AP Revised Proposed Order”). A redline of the AP Revised Proposed Order compared against the proposed order filed with the Sale Motion is attached hereto as Exhibit D. The Debtors currently intend to seek Court approval of the Universal Revised Proposed Order and the AP Revised Proposed Order at the hearing on the Sale Motion. The Debtors are continuing to discuss the Sale Motion and revised proposed orders with the Consultation Parties.
PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that a hearing on the Sale Motion is scheduled for April 7, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. (ET) before the Honorable David E. Rice at the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland, 101 W. Lombard St., Baltimore, Maryland 21201.
Wild!
The rest of the filing includes slightly redacted text of the purchase agreement between the parties, which includes $49,634,950 from Universal for Diamond UK and Alliance Games Distributions, and $19,495,050 from Ad Populum for Diamond Comics Distributors, CGA and Diamond Select Toys. As made clear in the filings, Universal and Ad Populem’s bids were combined just for the bankruptcy sale – the assets will not be run jointly in any way.
Alliance Entertainment, the original high bidder, seems to not be going down without a fight, as they are calling several witnesses for the hearing, which is mostly likely taking place as you read this.
Universal, a Canadian toy, game and comics distributor often described to me as “the Diamond of Canada,” had been in the hunt for Alliance Games and Diamond UK from the start, with a $39 million stalking horse bid for Alliance Games.
Ad Populum is a privately owned holding company which owns a wide variety of pop culture brands, include NECA Toys, Rubies Costumes, Enesco, Party City, WizKids, and even Graceland, the former home of Elvis Presley. The owner is Joel Weinshanker, who is perhaps best known for founding boutique toy company NECA and controlling the Elvis Presley estate. He is also a close friend of Priscilla Presley. We strongly advise him not to appear on any podcasts until all the paperwork is done and dusted.
Why is Diamond trying to go with a deal for $3 million less? I can only speculate but maybe because Diamond UK was not included in the Alliance Entertainment purchase? Hopefully, we’ll learn more as the week unfolds.
The final purchase won’t be approved until today’s court hearing is over, so we’ll see who comes out on top. Some folks reading this may wonder if Alliance Entertainment chairman Bruce Ogilvie’s podcast comments had anything to do with this swerve. While Ogilvie seemed more interested in the toys and games than the comics, in all honesty, Ad Populum also seems more of a toy company than a comics company. With Universal picking up the two profitable divisions of Diamond, Ad Populum was left paying $19.5 million for the comics business, something they don’t really do, a grading company, and a toy company, which is something they already do a lot of.
I hate to say it, but the auction for Diamond’s assets was always about toys and games.
In one more addendum of note, another bidder filed an objection to the sale. Skyrush Marketing, a digital marketing agency, wanted its $1.65 million bid for Comics Grading Authority to be considered.
Background:
Skyrush Marketing submitted a fully qualified bid and APA to purchase Lot A (CGA) during the March 24, 2025 auction process.
Skyrush was declared the highest bidder for Lot A, with a bid of $1.65 million.
Despite this, CGA was grouped into the sale to Alliance Entertainment (Lot D) without transparency or an opportunity for Skyrush to counter, even though Skyrush was led to believe its bid would be evaluated in comparison.
Objection:
The sale process did not afford Skyrush a fair opportunity to compete for CGA against the Lot D bidder.
The asset value of CGA in the Lot D transaction was not disclosed, preventing a transparent comparison of benefit to the estate.
Skyrush believes its offer may have provided greater net value to the estate for CGA, and was prepared to negotiate further had a fair process been followed.
Relief Requested:
That the Court consider this limited objection and evaluate whether the sale of CGA as part of Lot D was conducted in a manner consistent with fair auction procedures.
That Skyrush’s concerns be entered into the record prior to any final order approving the Lot D sale.
As mentioned, by the time you’re reading this the hearing may have been concluded and the sale to Universal and Ad Populum approved by the court. We’ll keep you posted throughout the day, although the problems of three little companies don’t amount to a hill of beans as the global economy hurtles towards a recession.
