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Equipment Boards => Columbia 300 => Topic started by: JamesCube on February 08, 2007, 10:43:52 AM

Title: From what I heard, Barnes is out
Post by: JamesCube on February 08, 2007, 10:43:52 AM
When I heard today that Ebonite has purchased Columbia, I also heard that all pro staff working for Columbia and the other companies were dropped.  They will have to renegotiate deals or move to another company.  

If that's true, Barnes must be fuming because I do not think Ebonite will give him the same deal that Columbia threw at him.  I do not know how companies deal with something like this when the company itself changes hands.
Title: Re: From what I heard, Barnes is out
Post by: jkiser01 on February 08, 2007, 07:10:46 PM
Until an official announcement is made from Ebonite, I don't believe any rumours or anything else thats said..
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I think the great slump of 2006-2007 is finally coming to an end!!
Title: Re: From what I heard, Barnes is out
Post by: strikenout on February 08, 2007, 07:53:34 PM
i second that people should shut up and wait for something to come out
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BRUNSWICK THE KING OF BALLS
Title: Re: From what I heard, Barnes is out
Post by: BirwinJR on February 08, 2007, 09:22:45 PM
Staff meeting will be on Saturday to talk about contracts
Title: Re: From what I heard, Barnes is out
Post by: BrooklynSlop on February 08, 2007, 09:40:44 PM
They can't "drop" contracts. Contracts are agreements between two parties constituting a commitment on BOTH ENDS. They must fulfill the contract or pay it out in one lump sum (contract buy out).

I'm sick of all the BS rumors floating around. Keep your mouth shut if you aren't speaking from the source.
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Trip-4 Bowling Supply
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Title: Re: From what I heard, Barnes is out
Post by: scotts33 on February 08, 2007, 09:47:19 PM
quote:
They can't "drop" contracts. Contracts are agreements between two parties constituting a commitment on BOTH ENDS. They must fulfill the contract or pay it out in one lump sum (contract buy out).


Tell that to all the pro team athletes who renegotiate their contracts after a good year continually Slop.  
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Scott

Title: Re: From what I heard, Barnes is out
Post by: mrbowlingnut on February 08, 2007, 10:17:29 PM
This guy knows somebody hmmmmmmm



quote:
Staff meeting will be on Saturday to talk about contracts
Title: Re: From what I heard, Barnes is out
Post by: YeahHossNV on February 08, 2007, 10:54:39 PM
Technically the corporation that signed them no longer exists. That should void all contracts.
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Title: Re: From what I heard, Barnes is out
Post by: crankncrash on February 08, 2007, 11:00:08 PM
Barnes is out sorry...
Title: Re: From what I heard, Barnes is out
Post by: golfnutFL on February 08, 2007, 11:00:21 PM
Are you a contractual lawyer? I doubt it. While not an attorney I am involved in many contractual negotiations. It is a rare circumstance where a purchaser is responsible for the contracts of the company that they've purchased.

I will give you a simple example. Say a person owns a investment property. They sign a contract with a management company that allows the management company to rent, clean and maintain the property. The contract even contains a clause that says that the contract is binding upon heirs of the signer. This person dies. Are the heirs contractually obligated to continue this relationship under terms signed by the deceased. Under Florida law, the answer is 100% NO. The heirs did not sign nor were party to the contract. It is void.

I'll give you another example, this time commercial. A skilled nursing facility has contracts with a pharmacy and a therapy company. The owners are broke and sell the facility. Are the new owners bound by the contracts and are they responsible for any unpaid invoices prior to the date of purchase? The answer under Indiana law is NO.

So don't be so sure that Ebonite can't "drop" contracts. They were not party to them in the first place. Just because you buy a business doesn't neccessarily mean that you are obligated to fulfill the contracts of the seller. If Columbia no longer exists as an entity those contracts are likely unenforcable. Go after the prior owners if you don't like it, but most likely the new owners are not responsible (unless they agreed to assume responsibility under the purchase agreement, which I think would be foolish).  

quote:
They can't "drop" contracts. Contracts are agreements between two parties constituting a commitment on BOTH ENDS. They must fulfill the contract or pay it out in one lump sum (contract buy out).

I'm sick of all the BS rumors floating around. Keep your mouth shut if you aren't speaking from the source.
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Trip-4 Bowling Supply
Email: trip4bowling@yahoo.com
PayPal ID: dartbowling@yahoo.com

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Don't argue with an idiot; people watching may not be able to tell the difference.
Title: Re: From what I heard, Barnes is out
Post by: bluerrpilot on February 09, 2007, 03:20:01 AM
quote:
Technically the corporation that signed them no longer exists. That should void all contracts.



Who said Columbia no longer exists? When Ebonite purchased Hammer way back when, they didn’t just stop existing.


What about the sales reps to pro shops and wholesalers. Ebonite might want to use there own people there. As well as moving manufacturing to KY.
Title: Re: From what I heard, Barnes is out
Post by: newman891 on February 09, 2007, 03:29:56 AM
Being from KY and having worked for several attorneys on contract work, here is what I understand.  When a business is completely bought by another that business, in essence, ceases to exist.  Business 1, having been bought by business 2, is now simply a part of business two.  If there is negotiation prior to sale that business 1 will continue to be its own part of business 2 and merely under its supervision, then contracts with business 1 prior to sale will still be viable.  However, if no such understanding is reached before merger or buyout, then all contracts with business 1 will have to be renegotiated with business 2.

Otherwise known as...

If Barnes or anyone else who worked for Columbia is going to continue to work for them, they will have to go through Ebonite first (onless of course it was already negotiated prior to C300 being purchased).
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Matthew R. Adams
Current Line-up: Action, Action Packed, Apex Aggresson, The Thing Returns, Vendetta Sniper,  Pure Energy, XXXtreme, and Tropical Storm
Title: Re: From what I heard, Barnes is out
Post by: clintdaley on February 09, 2007, 04:33:33 AM
While I do not know the ins and outs here, don't forget the last time this happened, when Ebo bought Hammer...remember who had a six figure contract with Hammer that Ebonite did not take.....Walter Ray. Walter is still owed lots of money.....

Clint
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Title: Re: From what I heard, Barnes is out
Post by: Sawuser on February 09, 2007, 05:19:08 AM
quote:
Until an official announcement is made from Ebonite, I don't believe any rumours or anything else thats said..
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I think the great slump of 2006-2007 is finally coming to an end!!


I agree with this, mainly because I'm not all knowing like some here seem to be. This reminds me of the lane1 forum
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Righty
Think about it!

It is impossible to govern rightly without God and the Bible. - George Washington

Title: Re: From what I heard, Barnes is out
Post by: CoachJim on February 09, 2007, 05:39:25 AM
quote:
Barnes is out sorry...  


You sure there isn't something you can do? You know for old time's sake?

Well just let Mike know it was just business.
Title: Re: From what I heard, Barnes is out
Post by: Djarum on February 09, 2007, 07:11:10 AM
Barnes could always seek legal action.., but I doubt he'd win.

Dj
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Title: Re: From what I heard, Barnes is out
Post by: qstick777 on February 09, 2007, 07:19:11 AM
quote:
It is a rare circumstance where a purchaser is responsible for the contracts of the company that they've purchased.



Unless we know the details of Barnes' contract, we can't say for sure.  There may have been wording to declare the contract void if the company was sold, declared bankruptcy, etc.

Have you never heard of company buyouts where the purchaser assume all assets and liabilities?  Barnes' contract would be a liability.

Now, that being said, the press release only mentions an agreement to acquire ASSETS:

quote:
Ebonite International, Inc. has entered into an agreement for an asset purchase of Columbia Industries, including the Columbia, Track and Dyno-Thane® brands of bowling equipment


So, it is possible that Chris is "gone."

Because both companies are privately held, we have no way of knowing any of the numbers.  It's possible that Columbia had 1 million dollars of debt, and 10 million in assets.  Columbia could sell off all the assets for less than current value and still have enough to settle their debts and put some cash in their pockets.

Remember these are private companies - you can liken the sale of their assets to somebody that fixes up an old car - they might have $10k invested in the car and it might be worth $25k.  They can sell for $13k and still be okay.
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Title: Re: From what I heard, Barnes is out
Post by: qstick777 on February 09, 2007, 07:31:50 AM
Okay, and with all that asset talk being said in the previous post, I have to say this:

If everybody associated with Columbia Industries was let go, they were not let go by Ebonite International, they were let go by Columbia Industries.

I worked a part time job in retail about 10 years ago.  The company (Caldor) went out of business - couldn't compete with Walmart, Kmart, and Target.  The store where I was working was sold to a liquidator.

The store told us that our last day would be X and after that the liquidator would own everything.  If we wanted to continue working we would have to talk to the liquidator.  The liquidator came in and basically said this:  "As of next Tuesday, I am the owner.  I would like you to stay on and work until everything is sold.  I'm projecting 1 month.  If you'd like to stay please come talk to me, if not I understand."

So, I was technically let go by Caldor, because they went out of business.  I just happened to stay on for a few more weeks, but I was an employee of the liquidator and not the original company.

So, basically what I'm saying is that by selling everything to Ebonite, Columbia basically shut down it's business and let all the employees go.  If people are bitter about people losing their jobs (or not being told ahead of time), they should be bitter at Columbia and not Ebonite.
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Title: Re: From what I heard, Barnes is out
Post by: ShoreLefty on February 09, 2007, 07:41:55 AM
I could be wrong but I believe that Hammer went out of business, therefore, leaving WRW high and dry (awwwwww).  AFter beiung out of business, Ebonite bought the HAMMER brand name.  Again, I could be wrong, but I thought that is how it happened.  If so, a little different scenario than Ebonite straight up buying Columbia.
Title: Re: From what I heard, Barnes is out
Post by: clintdaley on February 09, 2007, 07:46:21 AM
That could be possible....I don't know the specifcs from 5 years ago.....
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Title: Re: From what I heard, Barnes is out
Post by: golfnutFL on February 09, 2007, 09:04:43 AM
They no longer exist, they are gone. The Columbia Corporation no longer exists. The Columbia name (and assets) are now owned by Ebonite International but the entity that was Columbia is gone.  


quote:
quote:
Technically the corporation that signed them no longer exists. That should void all contracts.



Who said Columbia no longer exists? When Ebonite purchased Hammer way back when, they didn’t just stop existing.


What about the sales reps to pro shops and wholesalers. Ebonite might want to use there own people there. As well as moving manufacturing to KY.

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Don't argue with an idiot; people watching may not be able to tell the difference.
Title: Re: From what I heard, Barnes is out
Post by: golfnutFL on February 09, 2007, 09:07:43 AM
Having been in business related activities for more than 20 years I disagree with this statement 100%. In my experience the purchaser almost NEVER assumes the business obligations of the company purchased, unless they are beneficial to the purchaser.


quote:
I disagree with the concept regarding contracts.  Almost
always the purchaser assumes the business obligations
of the company purchased, including contracts entered into
prior to the sale.

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Don't argue with an idiot; people watching may not be able to tell the difference.
Title: Re: From what I heard, Barnes is out
Post by: SplitKing on February 09, 2007, 09:23:21 AM
Interesting...Go to Columbia's website and guess what is missing.  They no longer have any inforamtion or links to anyone on Colimbia's bowling staff.  I would say that is a good indication that they are all done.
Title: Re: From what I heard, Barnes is out
Post by: Rev_O on February 09, 2007, 09:32:03 AM
quote:
Interesting...Go to Columbia's website and guess what is missing.  They no longer have any inforamtion or links to anyone on Colimbia's bowling staff.  I would say that is a good indication that they are all done.


Same thing on Tracks site, Click on Domestic staff, no pictures or names at all. They still have all of the international staff listed though!
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Rev-O









Title: Re: From what I heard, Barnes is out
Post by: ShoreLefty on February 09, 2007, 10:27:19 AM
Why wouldn't you still run "a" tournament, jsut base the prize fund off of entries.  All you would need to do is find someone, if not yourself to run brackets.  If you already have the software, you still make a little money there, and take out some of the entry in lineage as was already going to be done.  If you get 60 entries and with as little as $50 going to the prize fund you can still pay $1000 for first, pay 1:5,and 12th would get $100 back.  As a proprietor try to make the best out of a bad situation that wasn't casued by you and guess what, it will help your business in the integrity department.  Plus, if you were in a position to offer the bowlers say a little buffet, or free drinks, or a free meal, oh my gosh, what that would do for your centers rep.!!!
Title: Re: From what I heard, Barnes is out
Post by: Fluff E Bunnie on February 09, 2007, 10:29:39 AM
Does this mean I won't have to see that annoying YOU DO THE MATH commercial anymore?  That would be the only positive thing to come out of this buyout.
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Special...  Agent-man!
Title: Re: From what I heard, Barnes is out
Post by: dpunky on February 13, 2007, 11:45:57 AM
Another example of the contracts not being automatically transfered to to the acquiring company is World Championship Wrestling (WCW).

When WWE bought WCW from AOL TimeWarner in 2002, WWE only bought the trademark and the tape library of WCW.  They did not buy the contracts of the WCW wrestlers.  These contracts remained property of AOL TimeWarner.  WCW wrestlers that wanted to jump to WWE needed to either void their contract with AOL Timewarner, or wait at home and not work for another wrestling company until their contract ended.  

Ebonite I believe structured the same deal with Columbia with buying the rights to the Columbia name and ball technology, and voiding all Columbia contracts.  But I don't know the terms of the Ebonite deal with Columbia, so my insight is just speculation.  I'm not sure where this leaves Chris Barnes.
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dpunky

"Now rolling Columbia, and old school Faball and Brunswick"
Too Cool for School
Title: Re: From what I heard, Barnes is out
Post by: Xfest on February 13, 2007, 12:14:42 PM
quote:
Another example of the contracts not being automatically transfered to to the acquiring company is World Championship Wrestling (WCW).

When WWE bought WCW from AOL TimeWarner in 2002, WWE only bought the trademark and the tape library of WCW.  They did not buy the contracts of the WCW wrestlers.  These contracts remained property of AOL TimeWarner.  WCW wrestlers that wanted to jump to WWE needed to either void their contract with AOL Timewarner, or wait at home and not work for another wrestling company until their contract ended.  

Ebonite I believe structured the same deal with Columbia with buying the rights to the Columbia name and ball technology, and voiding all Columbia contracts.  But I don't know the terms of the Ebonite deal with Columbia, so my insight is just speculation.  I'm not sure where this leaves Chris Barnes.
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dpunky

"Now rolling Columbia, and old school Faball and Brunswick"
Too Cool for School



When comparing a fake sport to get entertainment, and having bowling as a very individual sport. I would conclude that wrestling has nothing to do with bowling.

Thats like comparing apples to oranges.
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"Do you NV me?"
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Hammer Black Widow Storm Pyro
"Ey, Yo Crank! What ball was that?"
Title: Re: From what I heard, Barnes is out
Post by: dpunky on February 13, 2007, 12:22:31 PM
quote:
quote:
Another example of the contracts not being automatically transfered to to the acquiring company is World Championship Wrestling (WCW).

When WWE bought WCW from AOL TimeWarner in 2002, WWE only bought the trademark and the tape library of WCW.  They did not buy the contracts of the WCW wrestlers.  These contracts remained property of AOL TimeWarner.  WCW wrestlers that wanted to jump to WWE needed to either void their contract with AOL Timewarner, or wait at home and not work for another wrestling company until their contract ended.  

Ebonite I believe structured the same deal with Columbia with buying the rights to the Columbia name and ball technology, and voiding all Columbia contracts.  But I don't know the terms of the Ebonite deal with Columbia, so my insight is just speculation.  I'm not sure where this leaves Chris Barnes.
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dpunky

"Now rolling Columbia, and old school Faball and Brunswick"
Too Cool for School



When comparing a fake sport to get entertainment, and having bowling as a very individual sport. I would conclude that wrestling has nothing to do with bowling.

Thats like comparing apples to oranges.
--------------------
"Do you NV me?"
Ebonite Total NV Ebonite Angular One
Hammer Black Widow Storm Pyro
"Ey, Yo Crank! What ball was that?"



This topic was talking about how companies that get aquired deal with employee contracts, not comparing wrestling to bowling. I provided an example (which happened to be non-bowling) to illustrate the example of what a corporation may do to contracts.  Since ebonite is a corporated company, and it aqcuired Columbia (another corporated company), my example is valid.
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dpunky

"Now rolling Columbia, and old school Faball and Brunswick"
Too Cool for School