Apple Sapphire Glass firm GT Advanced Tech goes bust
An American firm which supplies Apple with damage-resistant sapphire glass displays has filed for bankruptcy after its shares dropped by 90 per cent in the space of a few days.
The sirius tool checks the strength of the Sapphire Glass
GT Advanced Technologies went bust on Monday after its shares plunged from $1.5bn to $175m over the weekend.
The collapse will bring into question the firm’s future with partner Apple which last November signed a half a billion dollar deal with the company to use its hardened sapphire crystal glass displays.
The displays will be used in Apple devices such as the newly announced Apple Watch with the next generation of iPhone smartphones also being touted to adopt the technology in a bid to prevent all-too-common screen fragmentation.
On filing for bankruptcy, Tom Gutierrez, Cchief executive of GT Advanced Technologies, said: “GT has a strong and fundamentally sound underlying business. Today's filing does not mean we are going out of business; rather, it provides us with the opportunity to continue to execute our business plan on a stronger footing, maintain operations of our diversified business, and improve our balance sheet.
"We remain committed to our roots in innovation and our diversification strategy. We plan to continue to operate as a technology leader across our core set of businesses."
The firm is reportedly in debt to Apple to the tune of $350m after it received a loan to develop a new production facility in Arizona earlier this year.