I read a comment on this board mentioning K-line will be owned by Lionel. Was that a joke or fact? Please let us all know the latest.
Dan
Yes, & you can even read it first hand, at the Lionel web-site !
http://www.lionel.com/#
Thanks,
My understanding (which coulld be wrong) is that the manufacturer in Korea has taken over K-lines assets there (including some future projects) and has the right to use the K-Line name. Lionel will be the distributer for them under a licensing adreement.
As of today, the bankruptcy judge overseeing Lionel’s case did approve the licencing agreement between Lionel & Sanda Kan. However, the sale of the K-Line assets to Sanda Kan HAS NOT been finalized as of today. The asset sale should be completed by the end of March 2006.
The licenceing agreement is a way for Sanda Kan to recoup some or all of the money owed by K-Line(some 5 million + $), as the licencing fees for 2006 & 2007 are substantial. Lionel will have the option of buying all the assets before the end of 2009 by paying the difference between what Lionel had paid in licence fees and the 5+ million.
The fly in the whole pie, however, is the 38 million judgement that is still pending. IF Lionel does not get the judgement reduced or reversed, I suspect that Lionel will go into Chapter 7 and fold. If this happens, then the O gauge stage will have 1 major player left-- just like it was in the MPC years.
As SpankyBird noted, we updated our story about this today. Check our homepage for updates as they happen.
http://www.trains.com/Content/Dynamic/Articles/000/000/006/488pmphs.asp
“IF Lionel does not get the judgement reduced or reversed, I suspect that Lionel will go into Chapter 7 and fold. If this happens, then the O gauge stage will have 1 major player left-- just like it was in the MPC years.”
I seriously doubt that will happen, but it sounds like a decent enough plan to me. We ddn’t have anywhere near the range of products to choose from back then, but it sure made things a whole lot simplier and the hobby itself was a whole lot more friendly, unified, and far more focused on the various aspects of model railroading instead of what was transpiring in the industry.
Back in the MPC era we basically had no choices heck we couldn’t even get a horn or whistle and whenever we ask Lionel to make something new or bring something back they would say they didn’t have the tools or it would cost to much to make new ones. or they would compromise remember the U36Bs and Cs? At least they did’t have the dual to the death competition.
Scott R. Conforto
Wow… the economic conditions were bad enough for these companies to endure, but when tied to all this legal fallout, that may leave only a couple companies standing; Atlas and Williams!