SUITORS SEEK SCOUR
Late Thursday (12/7), Liquid Audio said it would enter the auction for Scour's assets, joining Listen.com and CenterSpan Communications who have already expressed interest, online news provider CNET News.com reports.
Liquid Audio's Philip Wiser said his company discussed the prospect with the RIAA and MPAA—each of which are suing Scour for contributing to copyright infringement—before making the bid, according to published reports.
"Given our history and the fact that we've been the guys with the white hats for so long, they were pleased about the idea of us being the ones to take over the assets," Wiser said.
However, Liquid's bid may have come too late. The court deadline for entering the auction closed Tuesday (12/5), with only Listen.com and CenterSpan in the game. A judge must approve Liquid's bid for it to move forward.
Wiser said his company was not able to complete its "due diligence" review of Scour's resources before the court-imposed deadline.
An attorney for Scour's creditors told CNET Thursday that the company has about $4 million in outstanding debt, not including any possible judgment resulting from the copyright lawsuit.
Listen.com was the first to emerge as a bidder, offering $5 million and 527,918 shares of stock for the rights to Scour's technology and engineering team. Liquid Audio did not say how much it intends to bid but says its bid exceeds Listen.com's offer.
