About a week ago I wrote about how Diamond's attempt to sell the majority of its assets to Alliance Entertainment had hit a snag--namely, Diamond Comic Distributors itself wanted to accept another bid from a joint party that was lower but (allegedly) offered more cash upfront--Universal Distribution and Ad Populum. Lawsuits were filed and it looked like a huge mess was forming. Well, the dust has settled a bit with lawyers talking, and judges ruling, so it appears that Alliance has been confirmed as the, "Winner," of the bankruptcy with plans to have the sale finalized/closed on April 25th.
Not too long after the 25th, AEnt. takes over everything and things should be a mix of business as usual with improvements theoretically made to Diamond's business as well. Now, it has been no secret AEnt. is more interested in the opportunities the Direct Market provides for selling a variety of items along with comics than in the comic biz itself. A lot of this purchase was about toys, games, clothes, and so forth with comics just being an element AEnt. doesn't mind falling into, so to speak. A number of comic publishers moved away from Diamond, but I hope those who stayed with the company in some capacity (as their sole distributor or one of the options) are able to survive/function once all is said and done.
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