Txtr, a Berlin-based e-book device and retail platform, has declared bankruptcy with plans to restructure operations and offer its assets for acquisition. During this process, Txtr will continue to operate its online e-book store and e-reading platform.
In a prepared statement, a spokesperson for Txtr said the company will work with Olswang Restructuring Solutions to find a possible buyer for Txtr assets. Cofounder Thomas Leliveld said that a deal to sell the company fell apart at the end of 2014. The objective now, he said, "is to speed up the acquisition process." He hopes to get a deal done before the end of the first quarter.
During this restructuring, consumers using the Txtr e-book platform will continue to be able to buy and read e-books on the system. A Txtr spokesperson said, “There is no need for end users to take any action at this point.”
Txtr was founded in Germany in 2008 by Leliveld offering an e-reading device and online e-book retailing outside the U.S. e-book marketplace. In the U.S., the company is probably best known for the Txtr Beagle, a small low cost e-ink reading device linked to a consumers smartphone, that Leliveld planned to offer to consumers via mobile phone carriers. Txtr launched the device in 2012 but it never caught on with consumers or with mobile carriers. The company has also worked to develop e-bookstores for mass merchandisers in the U.S., but no company has yet implemented a system.
Txtr is affiliated with Blloon, a new U.K. e-book subscription service also founded by Leliveld that plans to expand its operations to the U.S. According to a statement released by Txtr, Blloon, “operates as a separate entity and therefore is not impacted by” the Txtr bankruptcy.
