old news, but atill gives me the giggles

[Guest guest]

so, was this a case of having low carb financials?

 

*President and CEO Mark S. Rodriguez said the company has in the past year

“adjusted our organization to accommodate a smaller business†*

Translation " ah crap, our customers are either dead er look like Wimpie from

popeye "

 

Atkins Nutritionals files for bankruptcy

Company has been hurt by waning popularity of its namesake diet

 

 

• Atkins files for bankruptcy

Aug. 1: The company that makes Atkins diet products has filed for Chapter 11,

and as NBC's Bob Faw reports, that may signal the end of fad diets.

Nightly News

 

 

 

 

 

Updated: 9:08 p.m. ET Aug. 1, 2005

NEW YORK - Atkins Nutritionals Inc., the company that promoted low-carb eating

into a national diet craze, filed for bankruptcy court protection Sunday, a

company spokesman said.

 

Atkins has been hurt by waning popularity of its namesake diet, which focuses on

eliminating carbohydrates such as bread and pasta to shed weight. The diet

became one of the most popular in U.S. history, spawning a virtual cottage

industry of low-carb regimens — but also drew criticism from experts for its

focus on fatty foods and low fruit and vegetable consumption.

 

A hearing on the prearranged, Chapter 11 filing was scheduled for Monday in U.S.

Bankruptcy Court, spokesman Richard Rothstein said. The privately held company,

founded in 1989 by Dr. Robert C. Atkins, said it had reached an agreement with

the majority of its lenders to give them equity in exchange for lowered debt.

 

 

 

Atkins owes $300 million in outstanding principal and interest, Rothstein said.

 

The company said it had received $25 million in financing to operate during the

bankruptcy proceedings, which it said would not affect day-to-day operations.

 

President and CEO Mark S. Rodriguez said the company has in the past year

“adjusted our organization to accommodate a smaller business†and will

promote its brands “more broadly for consumers who are concerned about heath

and wellness.â€

 

After it leaves bankruptcy, the Ronkonkoma, N.Y.-based company will focus on its

nutrition bars and shakes, Rodriguez said in a statement.

 

Private equity firm Parthenon Capital LLC acquired a majority stake in Atkins,

in October 2003. Goldman Sachs Capital Partners owns a smaller stake in the

company, as does the estate of Robert Atkins, who died in 2003 from injuries he

suffered in a fall.

 

© 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be

published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

 

Emotional appeals about working families trying to get by on $4.25 an hour [the

minimum wage in 1996] are hard to resist. Fortunately, such families do not

exist.

Tom Delay 4/23/96