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We Officially Declare The End Of RadioShack LBO Rumors

Tyler Durden's picture




 

For anyone who has traded RadioShack's bonds or stocks over the last decade or so, the constant threat of an LBO has been the bane of any fundamental analysis as one Credit Suisse memorably described it as "a company in a virtual state of constant collapse." It appears, with multiple default notices this week and the news that NYSE will suspend/delist trading in the ever-on-the-block company, that the 'LBO rumor' threat is over. With several firms (Sprint, Sanpower, and Amazon) mulling post-bankruptcy purchases, the concept of a pre-petition savior appears dead in the water...

 

It's been a wild ride for stocks...

*  *  *

“Once again, people are speculating that RadioShack is the subject of an LBO”

– Reuters, December 2006

“In a recent report, Deutsche Bank Securities compiled a list of 25 companies whose options have been targeted by buyout speculators. It includes….RadioShack Corp.”

– Wall Street Journal, May 14, 2007

“In recent weeks, RadioShack has been the target of lots of speculation….A week ago, the stock shot up….on rumors about a private equity buyout…

– Nightly Business Report March 10, 2010

RadioShack: Could This Finally Be the Year for a Buyout?

- WSJ, March 26, 2010

And now...

RadioShack Trading Suspended at NYSE

- Bloomberg, Feb 2, 2015

*  *  *

They think it's all over...

 

Well it is now.

  • *NYSE TO SUSPEND TRADING IMMEDIATELY IN RADIOSHACK CORP. AND
  • *NYSE TAKING ACTION TO DELIST THE COMMON STOCK OF RADIOSHACK
  • *RADIOSHACK SAID TO PLAN FOR BANKRUPTCY FILING TOMORROW: WSJ
 

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Tue, 02/03/2015 - 15:02 | 5739850 stinkhammer
stinkhammer's picture

radio scraps

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 15:11 | 5739897 NoDebt
NoDebt's picture

The land of strobe lights, 3nd tier cell phones, build-it-yourself speakers and universal power supply transformers is no more.

Let us all have a moment of silence.

OK, that's enough.  Everybody back to work.

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 15:18 | 5739952 max2205
max2205's picture

What wall st does best....drag out a collapse to 15 years to draw in suckered to the very end..golf clap fuckers 

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 15:31 | 5740002 nuubee
nuubee's picture

Would you like a cell phone with that battery purchase?

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 16:58 | 5740339 Lore
Lore's picture

Middleman retailers are realizing too late that it's hard to compete with the manufacturer who can ship direct. DUH.

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 15:21 | 5739957 Dr. Engali
Dr. Engali's picture

Work...... that's what they call what we do?

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 15:29 | 5739991 NoDebt
NoDebt's picture

Well, "work".  Whatever that thing is that we tell our spouses we do when we don't want to be around them for most of the day.

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 15:37 | 5740025 Uber Vandal
Uber Vandal's picture

+ 1 Trillion.

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 15:54 | 5740120 Groundhog Day
Groundhog Day's picture

Coming to a Best buy near you

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 16:21 | 5740231 FireBrander
FireBrander's picture

Best Buy has gotten it's act together; around here anyway. No longer do I treat BB as a place to try/inspect before I buy online somewhere else...no sir...show BB the best price from any legitimate online seller and they will match it on the spot.

Radio Shack - I called to check if an item is in stock...doof answers, I hear rap music blaring in the background..he claims they don't sell what I'm calling about...stupid fuck, it's right here in your latest print ad...ok, hold on I'll check...more fucken rap music...fuck this, I hung up and bought somewhere else.

MORON FUCKEN CEO's ... Don't hire TRASH employees...THEY WILL BREAK YOU...CHEAP LABOR IS NOT CHEAP...it will cost you a fortune in lost sales, errors, theft, lost efficiency and NEGATIVE BUYER EXPERIENCE leading to no sale EVER FUCKING AGAIN.

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 23:52 | 5740423 Lore
Lore's picture

I never set foot in BB after a very distasteful experience with their return policy. Let the market speak. 

To hell with "price matching."  Whatever happening to competitive pricing up front?  Let the market speak.

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 15:13 | 5739899 MagicHandPuppet
MagicHandPuppet's picture

oh noes... where 'm I gonna buy me some way-over priced batteries if they go under?

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 15:15 | 5739905 ZerOhead
ZerOhead's picture

Wait... Isn't that the Baltic Dry Index graph they used yesterday?

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 15:46 | 5740072 Bloppy
Bloppy's picture

Where am I going to get spare capacitors and resistors without Radio Whack?

 

Super Bowl security breach- guards helped two men sneak in!

Attention terrorists, here's how to do it:

http://tinyurl.com/kw7wuk9

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 22:18 | 5741567 StychoKiller
Tue, 02/03/2015 - 15:07 | 5739854 Dr. Engali
Dr. Engali's picture

On a long enough timeline the survival rate for everyone drops to zero.  After missing the boat on the technology explosion I'm surprised they hung on this long. Radio Crap, a Tandy corporation.

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 15:07 | 5739877 NoDebt
NoDebt's picture

I'm going on eBay today and buying a TRS-80 before they become collectors items.  But where will I ever get parts for it should some circuit board pop?  I would need a place I could buy individual electronic components like resistors, capacitors and transformers.  Somebody should start a store that caters to that market.

 

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 15:10 | 5739886 Dr. Engali
Dr. Engali's picture

They did, it's called Ebay ;->. I can find damn near anything there except for guns.

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 15:11 | 5739894 Buckaroo Banzai
Buckaroo Banzai's picture

Yeah, but eBay blows huge donkey cock.

Other than that, it's great.

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 15:15 | 5739911 i_call_you_my_base
i_call_you_my_base's picture

Brick and mortars can't compete with the inventory breadth of online stores. It's just not possible.

Edit: I've bought some parts here: http://www.robotshop.com/en/electronic-components.html

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 15:59 | 5740144 MisterMousePotato
MisterMousePotato's picture

And, for audio/stereo kinda stuff, it's hard to beat partsexpress.

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 15:24 | 5739980 Skateboarder
Skateboarder's picture

Digi-Key, Mouser, Avnet, Future, Arrow, etc. are the only supplier options left. It's all big name now. You might be lucky enough to have some electroncis stores who still carry individual electronics components, but the use-n-throw mentality does not lend itself to the continuity of their existence either.

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 17:49 | 5740629 HardAssets
HardAssets's picture

Many years ago, as a kid, I remember going to RS to buy components for various projects. I remember getting stuff to actually - now get this - repair things, believe it or not. What a concept ! (Recall that recent UK article where it mentioned how clueless & incompetent young people are in regard to such practical skills today.)

A relative of mine said recently that he 'liked to keep up with the latest technology'. Translation: he went out and bought some useless consumer gadget.
He acted as though he invented the thing, rather than just swipe his credit card to buy it.

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 16:02 | 5740163 seek
seek's picture

They have. We've got SparkFun, Mouser, Digikey, Amazon, Newark/Element14 ... seriously the state of DIY hobbiest electronics has never been better. People are DIY/fabbing emulators of TRS-80s with PCBs and everything on their kitchen counters. Radio Shack fucked up by competely missing the rise of the "maker" community and focused on hawking non-differentiated cell phones, when they completely owned the DIY market 30 years ago! They should have been selling SMD components and 3D printers and not phone contracts. Sparkfun in particular showed how starved the hobbiest world was, went from a bedroom to >$30 million in sales and 150 employees in 10 years, and the market is still under-served.

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 16:13 | 5740193 tarsubil
tarsubil's picture

This is one of those death by a douche in a suit stories.

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 22:48 | 5741689 StychoKiller
Tue, 02/03/2015 - 15:35 | 5740020 Gilnut
Gilnut's picture

Not only did they miss the boat on technology explosion, they comletely missed the boat on the dying of the "do-it-yourself" breed in the U.S.   They should have gotten a clue when model building went "snap together" in the early 80's.  :)   I feel bad for Radio Shack.....one of the few companies that held out hope that the youger generation wasn't being "dumbed-down" completely.  Fools.

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 15:02 | 5739857 Automatic Choke
Automatic Choke's picture

<sniff>   many childhood memories go with these guys.

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 15:04 | 5739869 NoDebt
NoDebt's picture

Rermember when they gave out free-battery-a-month cards?  Wow.  One whole battery every month.  How could you say no to an incentive like that?

 

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 15:15 | 5739923 Automatic Choke
Automatic Choke's picture

yes!   but mostly, i remember drooling over their cheesy quadraphonic hifi junk back in high school....

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 15:22 | 5739959 NoDebt
NoDebt's picture

Yeah, you just weren't cool unless you had a belt-driven turn table and some Minimus 7 speakers up on the bookshelf.  Am I taking you back?  I could do Radio Shack nostalgia all day.

You ever own a Radio Shack 150-in-1 electronic project kit?

Ever buy a Radio Shack crossover kit and build your own speakers?

How about a Realistic car stereo to replace the factory AM/FM radio in your 74 Nova?

 

 

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 15:33 | 5740013 Automatic Choke
Automatic Choke's picture

nostalgia phermones are dripping on my keyboard.

i didn't do the 150-in-1 from RS, i had the Heathkit version years before.

crossover kit - yes!

car stereo - my first car was a '67 vw fastback and had no factory radio.  i put a cheapie cassette player (no radio) in the glovebox, i think it came from jc whitney.

 

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 15:56 | 5740124 NoDebt
NoDebt's picture

JC Whitney was awesome.  I used to buy all sorts of stuff from them.  You can believe this or not, I have a set of exhaust headers on my old Malibu that I bought from JC Whitney 30+ years ago.  Still got 'em!  Still got the car!  

I still work on old cars as my hobby.

 

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 15:18 | 5739932 PhysicalRealm
PhysicalRealm's picture

Yeah, childhood (decades ago), but I haven't been in a RS since the last time I tried to buy something and they were STILL demanding an address from purchasers.  Fuck that.  They earned their demise.

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 15:04 | 5739859 JRev
JRev's picture

Great, one of the few useful brick-and-mortar stores around goes by the wayside yet KMART marches on. Can't buy resistors, capacitors, or PCBs locally anywhere else, but hey, in a society where skills like actually building shit and soldering are frowned upon, I can't say I'm surprised.

RIP RadShack.

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 15:13 | 5739879 Dr. Engali
Dr. Engali's picture

Why build stuff when we have Chinese people who will do that for us? Nothing can possibly go wrong with that model can it? 

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 15:14 | 5739908 Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill's picture

The US relies on them for their ICBM electronics, so no Doc.

Safe as.... was going to say houses...Obozos' word ?

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 15:23 | 5739976 adr
adr's picture

Radio Shack should have just started selling Chinese crap for half the price of what Walmart sells the same Chinese crap for.

I'd be buying the hell out of rechargeable AA battery 4 packs for $5. Screw this $12.99 AA battery pack crap from Energizer and Duracell. Radio Shack could also have made a deal with BLU Mobile and Xiaomi to sell the far superior unlocked Chinese phones for 1/3rd the price of an iPhone. Go prepaid services only.

If people started buying $199 Xiaomi phones that kick the iPhone's ass along with $35 a month unlimited service cell phone plans. the word would spread fast.

Radio Shack also should have gone 100% into the Raspberry Pi system.

Look at Five Below. Everything in the store is $5 and below. Most of it the same exact crap sold at Walmart for $10-15. The wholesale cost is the same $1-$2.50, but customers save $5-10 on each item.

Opportunities wasted because the CEO and board wanted to do what was best for the stock price, not long term business. They got to cash out big at certain times didn't they.

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 16:57 | 5740393 rejected
rejected's picture

Cell phones, more cell phones,,, moar cell phones and even more cellphones,,,,,,,

Jesus H F***ing Ch****  .... What do these do nothings do, except talk! Everywhere you go some moron has an Idiot phone slapped on their ear.

For a country that does nothing and makes nothing, they sure have a lot to talk about.

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 15:17 | 5739939 Automatic Choke
Automatic Choke's picture

actually, you can still get passive components at Fry's...which doesn't help if you are in the eastern half of the country.  digikey, however, has everything, and delivers almost before you finish placing the order.  the best on-line searchable catalog in existence also.

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 15:47 | 5740074 whatthecurtains
whatthecurtains's picture

IF Radio Shack actually sold that stuff anymore I would agree.  My local Shack doesn't have jack.  The guys in there are clueless all they know are cell phone models and no one buys from them.  

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 16:02 | 5740166 JRev
JRev's picture

I've never seen anyone else in my local Radio Shack, and I'm all but convinced they kept the lone, dusty drawer of components around just for me. Most of them are dated 2007 and they've never restocked.

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 17:56 | 5740653 HardAssets
HardAssets's picture

I remember in the Navy there was so much b.s. red tape to fill out that sometimes our electronic techs would just go buy the parts themselves from RS. Was a helluva lot cheaper than regular channels & we didn't sink, so there you go . . .

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 15:04 | 5739861 NoDebt
NoDebt's picture

Radio Shack started back in the 1920s (maybe even earlier) to support amateur ham radio enthusiasts and ship-to-shore communcations markets.

Places like this are supposed to go out of business when their entire market disappears as they do nothing to reinvent themselves.

 

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 15:16 | 5739929 kaiserhoff
kaiserhoff's picture

Please inform the government;)

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 15:04 | 5739868 Schmuck Raker
Schmuck Raker's picture

Oh well, back to telenovelas.

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 15:06 | 5739876 Make_Mine_A_Double
Make_Mine_A_Double's picture

There's gonna be alot of bummed out Indian cellphone floggers when they get the word.

 

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 15:09 | 5739880 monopoly
monopoly's picture

Between Apple and Amazon, how could they possibly survive, long term. Another institution gone. 

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 15:09 | 5739883 Sudden Debt
Sudden Debt's picture

Radioshack is from a age where people use to repair their devices when they broke down and all it needed was a new transistor or switch.

Now kids just go into a depression and steal money from their parents to buy new crap when something breaks down.

When I was a kod, all my friends had a soldering kit and making something new was what kept us awake at night. Now the stuff what keeps kids awake is watching porn online.

 

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 15:15 | 5739916 Dr. Engali
Dr. Engali's picture

When I watch porn I usually spank it and fall to sleep. I'm way too old for staying up all night.

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 15:19 | 5739947 Sudden Debt
Sudden Debt's picture

Call me a romantic fool but I still think you shouldn’t spank it but butter it up with warm butter.

 

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 15:21 | 5739963 NoDebt
NoDebt's picture

Too much information.

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 15:53 | 5740115 Uber Vandal
Uber Vandal's picture

Can't unsee that mental image......

http://eyebleach.com/

All better now.....

 

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 16:31 | 5740276 neuronius
neuronius's picture

+!

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 15:18 | 5739948 Mike Honcho
Mike Honcho's picture

Um, if you had unlimited access to the world supply of adult entertainment as a budding bronco, guess what you would have been doing.

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 15:20 | 5739951 dobermangang
dobermangang's picture

Yup, hardly anybody fixes things anymore.  It's even easier than ever before too.  You can usually find multiple videos on how to fix almost anything on youtube.  You can find parts cheap on Ebay or Amazon.  So if you got something broken, search how to fix it online and save lots of bucks, while also learning new skills. 

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 15:49 | 5740081 whatthecurtains
whatthecurtains's picture

Meanwhile the Maker movement is doing quite well.   Attend a maker faire and tell me people aren't soldering.

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 15:12 | 5739901 grapeape
grapeape's picture

Can't buy resistors, capacitors, or PCBs 

last time i was in a radio shack all they had were cell phones and rc cars. radio shack left the hobby long ago.

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 17:17 | 5740496 SoCalBusted
SoCalBusted's picture

You need to walk to the back of the store, beyond the cell phones and toys.

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 15:14 | 5739907 adr
adr's picture

I saw a Radio Shack on Saturday that had about four products on its shelf. The store didn't have any store closing signs or anything else. There were still three employees working in the store, probably to sell the few remaining pre-paid cell phone cards hanging behind the register.

I guess the Alpaca sweater people will have a few new locations to move into soon.

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 18:12 | 5740704 HardAssets
HardAssets's picture

I talked to some kids working at a local RS store a couple weeks ago. Of course, they weren't told anything. They were aware of the buy out rumors, though. They were of Mexican descent. Maybe illegal ? Perhaps more saavy and on the ball, trying to avoid the law. Most American kids I talk to are completely clueless on any subject of substance.

I'll have to call again and see if they have a big sale. Maybe they have a few components I can use.

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 15:18 | 5739934 Budd aka Sidewinder
Budd aka Sidewinder's picture

Wonder how many financial 'advisers' stuffed it in somebody's IRA back in '99 on the way to the moon and then forgot about it?

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 15:19 | 5739949 uhlmant
uhlmant's picture

It was delisted yesterday and trading as RSHC. 

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 15:36 | 5740022 the not so migh...
the not so mighty maximiza's picture

see ya on the unemployment line radio shack people

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 15:49 | 5740082 Dre4dwolf
Dre4dwolf's picture

I think the reason Radioshack went under was because it pretty much WAS the unemployment line.

Everytime you went into Radioshack you had to ask yourself how the hell their employees got hired in ANY position never mind sales.

 

Thats a lesson for all corporations, if you scrape the bottom of the barrel and hire under payed under-skilled employees, you will endup like this.

 

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 21:42 | 5741417 Buckaroo Banzai
Buckaroo Banzai's picture

Every radio shack I've ever patronized has had knowledgeable and helpful employees. Frankly I will miss that level of service.

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 15:37 | 5740029 Fix It Again Timmy
Fix It Again Timmy's picture

What's a radio...?

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 15:59 | 5740141 holdbuysell
holdbuysell's picture

SHLD and JCP on deck.

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 16:21 | 5740226 kchrisc
kchrisc's picture

One phrase, question, that sums up the demise of Radio Shack: "What is your phone number?"

And pushing their shitty batteries instead of stocking, and properly pricing, reliable battery brands.

Adios!

The banksters need to repay us.

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 16:30 | 5740273 p00k1e
p00k1e's picture

I think the failing of Radio Shack is a testament to the dumbing down of America.

At least the Terrorists won’t be able to buy replacement parts for their inventions.  

Tue, 02/03/2015 - 19:11 | 5740909 djsmps
djsmps's picture

Does Radio Shack sell 3D printers? And if so, what is your phone number?

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