The Zombie Pattern: When Fresh Capital Buys Standing Instead of Capacity
On September 1, GoPro announced it was being acquired. Starman Optical, a privately held maker of optical transceivers, will take roughly 90% of the company in a $285 million deal. Existing shareholders receive $1.14 per share in cash and retain about 10% of the combined business, which stays listed on Nasdaq; closing is expected by the end of 2026, subject to regulatory and shareholder approval. GoPro's roughly $92 million of outstanding debt is repaid in full at closing. The context matters more than the headline. In an August filing, GoPro told regulators that years of operating losses and deteriorating finances had raised "substantial doubt" about whether it would have enough cash to pay its bills and debts over the next year. Second-quarter revenue came in at $105 million, down 31% from a year earlier, alongside a $51 million net loss. Quarterly revenue had peaked above $630 million in the final quarter of 2014, shortly after the company went public. Back in April,...