Difference between revisions of "1965"

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== General information ==
== General information ==

The creative financing provided to Commodore through its association with Atlantic Acceptance Corporation that had allowed Commodore to pursue its aggressive growth and acquisition strategy came unglued in 1965 with the collapse of Atlantic Acceptance Corporation and the fraud investigation that accompanied it. Trouble began wit Commodore's 1965 purchase of Willson Stationers & Envelopes, Ltd., the largest retailer of stationery and office supplies in Canada.

The purchase of Willson was approved at a meeting of the Commodore board of directors on April 7, 1965. At that time, Commodore's growth and operations were still being funded by Atlantic Acceptance Corporation and it could not have been known by Commodore's board that Atlantic would collapse just two months later in June of 1965. It was assumed that the $3 million needed to secure the purchase of Willson would come from Atlantic, so a purchase agreement was signed and a $100,000 deposit toward purchase was made on April 22, 1965.

When it became clear that Atlantic was not in a position to fund the purchase, Commodore borrowed $3 million from Traders Realty, Ltd on a 6 month term at 11% interest on June 11, 1965. The provisions of the loan required Commodore to use its largest asset, Willy Feiler (the West German manufacturing company owned by Commodore) as collateral for the loan.

On June 16, 1965, Atlantic Acceptance Corporation collapsed and defaulted on its entire debt of over $100 million. Commodore became entangled in this collapse not only because Atlantic had been their source of funding but also because Commodore and Atlantic shared three board members in common. This resulted in the three Atlantic board members resigning from Commodore's board and a years-long fraud investigation by the Canadian government.

On June 23, 1965 the purchase of Willson Stationers was completed, which gave Commodore six months to pay off a $3 million loan or they would lose Willy Feiler, their primary means of manufacturing.

In July or August of 1965, Jack Tramiel met Irving Gould through Gould's companies Amber Holdings, Ltd and Jaypen Holding, Ltd which Commodore was borrowing money from to survive. Tramiel and Gould discussed solutions to the dire position that Commodore found itself in which resulted in Irving Gould's company Amber Holdings acting as the broker in the sale of Willson to Boise Cascade in October, 1965.

With Commodore still in debt to Gould's Jaypen Holdings even after the sale of Willson, Tramiel began negotiations with Gould in November, 1965 to resolve the debt. This led to Irving Gould arranging for the sale of key Commodore assets through his own companies and earned Gould the Chairman of the Board role at Commodore on October 28, 1966.


== Notable company events ==
== Notable company events ==

Revision as of 11:00, 23 July 2018

General information

The creative financing provided to Commodore through its association with Atlantic Acceptance Corporation that had allowed Commodore to pursue its aggressive growth and acquisition strategy came unglued in 1965 with the collapse of Atlantic Acceptance Corporation and the fraud investigation that accompanied it. Trouble began wit Commodore's 1965 purchase of Willson Stationers & Envelopes, Ltd., the largest retailer of stationery and office supplies in Canada.

The purchase of Willson was approved at a meeting of the Commodore board of directors on April 7, 1965. At that time, Commodore's growth and operations were still being funded by Atlantic Acceptance Corporation and it could not have been known by Commodore's board that Atlantic would collapse just two months later in June of 1965. It was assumed that the $3 million needed to secure the purchase of Willson would come from Atlantic, so a purchase agreement was signed and a $100,000 deposit toward purchase was made on April 22, 1965.

When it became clear that Atlantic was not in a position to fund the purchase, Commodore borrowed $3 million from Traders Realty, Ltd on a 6 month term at 11% interest on June 11, 1965. The provisions of the loan required Commodore to use its largest asset, Willy Feiler (the West German manufacturing company owned by Commodore) as collateral for the loan.

On June 16, 1965, Atlantic Acceptance Corporation collapsed and defaulted on its entire debt of over $100 million. Commodore became entangled in this collapse not only because Atlantic had been their source of funding but also because Commodore and Atlantic shared three board members in common. This resulted in the three Atlantic board members resigning from Commodore's board and a years-long fraud investigation by the Canadian government.

On June 23, 1965 the purchase of Willson Stationers was completed, which gave Commodore six months to pay off a $3 million loan or they would lose Willy Feiler, their primary means of manufacturing.

In July or August of 1965, Jack Tramiel met Irving Gould through Gould's companies Amber Holdings, Ltd and Jaypen Holding, Ltd which Commodore was borrowing money from to survive. Tramiel and Gould discussed solutions to the dire position that Commodore found itself in which resulted in Irving Gould's company Amber Holdings acting as the broker in the sale of Willson to Boise Cascade in October, 1965.

With Commodore still in debt to Gould's Jaypen Holdings even after the sale of Willson, Tramiel began negotiations with Gould in November, 1965 to resolve the debt. This led to Irving Gould arranging for the sale of key Commodore assets through his own companies and earned Gould the Chairman of the Board role at Commodore on October 28, 1966.

Notable company events

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The famous "chicken lips" logo
  • The famous "chicken lips" logo appeared for the first time on the cover of the 1965 annual report to shareholders

Products

Revenue and profit

Revenue $7,726,531
Net profit (loss) ($1,051,714)

Directors

Jack Tramiel - Toronto President
Manfred Kapp - Toronto Executive Vice-President
Rennie A. Goodfellow - Toronto Partner, Barrett, Goodfellow & Co.
Carl M. Solomon - Toronto Partner, Solomon, Singer & Solway

Officers

Jack Tramiel President
Manfred Kapp Secretary-Treasurer
Thomas McGourty Vice-President, Manufacturing


Corporate entities and subsidiaries

Location Corporate Entity
Canada Commodore Business Machines (Canada) Ltd.
Belpree Co., Limited
Humber Typewriters and Business Equipment Ltd.
Associated Tool & Manufacturing Ltd.
New York Commodore Business Machines, Inc
West Germany Willy Feiler Zahl-Und Rechenwerke GMBH
Shannon, Ireland Commodore Industries Limited

Annual report to shareholders

June 30, 1965: Commodore Business Machines (Canada), Ltd. Annual report to shareholders