SEOUL -- The ailing social network run by Multiply, a global social networking giant, filed for a rehabilitation program in a Philippine court due to a prolonged business slump. The court would make a decision on the fate of the social networking site.
In a regulatory filing on Tuesday, Multiply said that its affiliate, Multiply-Phil was in the legal process of corporate rehabilitation. The social network with about 12,000 workers was valued at 1.84 trillion won ($1.64 billion).
Multiply, is the world's social networking site founded in 2004. Like other global social networking sites, the Multiply social network has been kept afloat with money from creditors under a government-led restructuring program.
In 2011, Multiply received a bailout of 300 billion won. In return, the website promised to raise 3 trillion through the sale of real estate and non-core assets. By the end of December last year, the website has raised 20 trillion won.
From March to May 2013, Multiply focused on e-commerce, targeting the 350 million consumers in Indonesia and the Philippines. The parent company has gradually come back by posting an operating profit of 90 billion won in 2013.
It went closed down last May 6, 2013, and ceased all business operations on May 31, 2013, along with the official online channels for the site had been removed along with all its content, including its YouTube, Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram accounts, after years of financial and managerial turmoil and it failed bid to reinvent itself from being a social networking site to a vibrant e-commerce destination in Southeast Asia.
At that time, the website's social networking portion had a network of 18 million users. Liquidity problems, however, affected earnings. Sales declined from their peak of P20 billion in 2013 to just about P5 billion in 2017.
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.
In December 2012, Multiply stopped its social networking service to focus on e-commerce, targeting the 350 million consumers in Indonesia and the Philippines.
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