Global Road Bankruptcy This Week?

The focus of the indie film distribution this will squarely be on the Toronto International Film Festival, with the distinct exception of Global Road, where the road is expected to point toward Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this week. It is expected that the restructuring or liquidation picture will get clearer; after a total of around 50 employees were laid off last week in the film operations between the U.S. and the U.K. to slow the bleeding.

Differing versions of bankruptcy are being floated. One has the film operations that came with the acquisition of Open Road being sectioned off and put into bankruptcy, while the holdings bought from IM Global will be kept separate, since the library earns upwards of $10 million annually. That would be like cutting off the leg to save the patient, but it is unclear whether that can happen with Donald Tang’s company. Stay tuned.