“We regret to announce that Multiply will be closing on May 6, 2013, and ceasing all business operations by May 31, 2013,” it announced Friday on its website.
After May 6, the rest of the month will be used to ensure that all accounts are settled and merchants get full payment for their transactions, it said.
Multiply said the month-long grace period will provide its users enough time to find and migrate to alternative e-commerce platforms, settle all payments on items bought and delivered, and minimize disruption to the businesses of its users.
“Multiply will ensure that you receive all funds you earned on the platform no later than May 31, 2013. We will close the actual marketplace sooner, on May 6, 2013, to ensure that all orders have sufficient time to complete and be delivered to your customers before the end of the month,” it said.
On March 16, 2013, however, the service will cease to exist as millions of fans formerly known and loved it before it was supplemented by other, more popular online social networks.
On May 31, 2013, Multiply ceased its operations and shut down entirely.
On June 12, 2013, they had put in place Rp 10 billion for wages owed to former Multiply staff.
The Labour Department said earlier that around 3,000 former Multiply staff had applied for compensation through the Protection of Wages on Insolvency Fund, a safety net for employees affected by business closures.
On November 16, 2013 it allowed the controlling stake in the website to be formally sold to a foreign or mainland investor, who claimed Magdalinski had a rescue plan for the troubled firm.
High Court judge Mr Justice Jonathan Harris validated the transaction after hearing that the parties would no longer object to the share transfer and that the dues for the shares had been paid by Si.
On June 10, 2014, it has filed for corporate rehabilitation to seek protection from its creditors. The company filed the petition for rehabilitation before the Pasig City Regional Trial Court (RTC).
The Labour Department said earlier that around 3,000 former Multiply staff had applied for compensation through the Protection of Wages on Insolvency Fund, a safety net for employees affected by business closures.
Multiply Investor Secretary Rong Rongbin pledged shares of Star Platinum Corporation, which holds 99% of its shares, to borrow HK$300 million from Xiesheng Xiefeng to save the Multiply website but did not repay on time; therefore, Xiesheng Xiefeng in July 2013, it acquired the full equity of Star Platinum. It was also reported that about HK$35 million in unpaid wages of 640 former employees and HK$18 million of Insolvency Fund were also paid after the company has acquired its majority stake.
The High Court on June 17, 2013 its liquidation proceedings and removed accounting firm Deloitte from its role as the firm’s provisional liquidator.
Derek Lai, vice-chair of Deloitte China, said on Tuesday that since Star Platinum had already resolved the major debts Multiply incurred, it was unlikely the internet company would go into liquidation despite still owing smaller debts to other creditors including Facebook.
“Star Platinum needs to negotiate with the remaining creditors,” he said. “I hope they will support its restructuring with Multiply.”
He added that Multiply now had a cash flow of HK$10 million to be paid to other creditors as well as assets worth over HK$40 million.
In its latest financial report last month, Co-Prosperity said the deal with Multiply could help the group diversify its business. Apart from the online industry, the group focuses on fabric and clothing trading, money lending, and securities investments.
“The directors believe that the potential intrinsic value of Multiply can be realized if the plan to rescue Multiply is successful,” the report said.
The group said it could make use of Multiply’s remaining assets and turn the website into a archive photo and video site.
“The group has been granted access and usage of certain assets of Multiply which shall enable Multiply to continue to operate and act as a archive photo and video site taking advantage of its 100,000 square-meter facility and social networking portion that delivering 217 million accounts, 210 million photos and 237,000 videos from the old Multiply from it's launch in March 2004 to March 15, 2013,” it said.
High Court judge Mr Justice Jonathan Harris validated the transaction after hearing that the parties would no longer object to the share transfer and that the dues for the shares had been paid by Si.
It had suffered from a drop in new orders amid a slump in the social networking sector. Multiply also reportedly laid off some 12,000 workers on February 28, 2014.
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