ECONOMY

Velti’s US unit files for bankruptcy protection in Delaware

Velti Inc., a provider of technology for marketing on mobile devices, filed for bankruptcy protection to arrange a sale of its U.S. businesses.

The company, with operations in San Francisco, plans to auction some assets with an affiliate of GSO Capital Partners, the credit division of Blackstone Group LP, acting as the initial, or “stalking-horse,” bidder, Tom Becker, a spokesman for Velti, said in an e-mail.

Velti, a U.S. unit of Velti Plc, listed assets of $10 million to $50 million and debt of $50 million to $100 million in Chapter 11 documents filed in Delaware today.

“This is a great partner for us,” Velti Chief Executive Officer Alex Moukas said about GSO in a phone interview before the filing. “They have proven to be very supportive both in terms as a buyer of parts of our business but also as a lender of the remaining of our business that is not sold to them.”

Although the business lines of Air2Web India unit and Velti’s U.K. operations, including Mobile Interactive Group Ltd., are included in the proposed sale, those entities aren’t included in the bankruptcy and are continuing normal operations, Moukas said.

GSO has agreed to provide as much as $25 million in debtor- in-possession financing, including $10 million in cash, to support the businesses included in the proposed sale, he said.

“One of the things that made this deal so appealing to us is the fact that we will provide 100 percent continuity for our customers so our customers won’t see any disruption,” Moukas said.

Operations in the U.K., Greece, India, China, Brazil, Russia, the United Arab Emirates and elsewhere outside the U.S. didn’t seek protection and business there will continue as usual.

The case is In re Velti Inc., 13-12878, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware (Wilmington).

[Bloomberg]

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