GT Advanced, Apple Unsealed Court Document
By MYLES UDLAND at Business Insider
GT Advanced, the former Apple sapphire supplier that filed for bankruptcy back in October, never had a chance.
In a supplemental declaration by GT Advanced COO Daniel Squiller unsealed on Friday outlining GT Advanced's relationship with Apple, it's clear — at least as Squiller tells it — that Apple and GT's relationship was doomed from the start.
We first saw the document after it was posted by the folks at StreetInsider.
This document follows a declaration from Squiller unsealed late last month that outlined some of the problems in Apple and GT's relationship.
Friday's document offers a bit more color.
For one, Apple was supposed to be customer of GT Advanced, but the agreement between the companies didn't require that Apple be GT Advanced's customer. Apple simply became a lender.
And the agreement struck between the companies in the fall of 2013 was done via what Squiller called a "classic bait-and-switch strategy."
This agreement also stated that GT could not do business with any of Apple's competitors, which would be a reasonable requirement, because presumably Apple wouldn't want to be funding the manufacture of materials that found their way into a competitors' device. But again, Apple wasn't required to buy any sapphire at all.
Additionally, GT was required to build sapphire to Apple's specifications, which Squiller said, "continually changed and remain in flux to this day." (Squiller's complaint was given October 8; GT has subsequently said it will be exiting the sapphire business.)
The complaint also said that as of October 8, GT had incurred costs of $900 million related to the deal. Ahead of its bankruptcy filing, GT's market cap was about $1.5 billion.
Here's the ugly year-to-date chart of GT shares.
Google Finance
Continue reading: GT Advanced, Apple Unsealed Court Document – Business Insider.
Read also: Apple's Sapphire Glass Supplier Said Apple Threatened To Unleash Legal Fury If It Didn't Settle
