Enjoy Technology founded by former Apple exec Ron Johnson files for bankruptcy just months after IPO

Enjoy Technology, a retail tech firm co-founded by former Apple executives Ron Johnson and Tom Suiter in 2014, has filed for bankruptcy protection just eight months after it went public. The company offers to sell stock to the public through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) in October 2021.

As per Reuters, Enjoy Technology is now planning to sell its assets to Asurion LLC, a Nashville, Tennessee-based privately held company that provides insurance for smartphones, tablets, consumer electronics, appliances, satellite receivers, and jewelry.

It was reported that Asurion agreed to give $55 million for financing so the tech retail company can continue to operate while it works on business restructuring under the Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection from creditors. Enjoy Technology has made the filing with the bankruptcy court in Delaware.

As stated in the court filing, Enjoy has been struggling to keep its business running due to declining liquidity. A restructuring adviser said that, in part, this has happened to the company as many of the SPAC investors have taken back their money. The company also blamed the supply chain crisis and its inability to retain employees, which led to staff shortages.

Enjoy Technology revealed that currently, it only has $523,000 cash on hand. The company already has a division in the U.K., but it is set to slash 411 jobs there, and this is equivalent to around 18% of the firm's total workforce.

Meanwhile, prior to the bankruptcy filing, Enjoy Technology just released its first-quarter 2022 financial results. This was in May, and the company reported huge losses, but still, it said that it has been "exploring a variety of capital raising options including partner funding, debt financing, and equity solutions to continue with the business.

"We have commenced the strategic evaluation process to ensure we are exploring all potential paths that we hope will maximize the value of the Company for our stakeholders," CEO Ron Johnson further said in the press release at that time. "I am very proud of our team's continued hard work serving our customers during this challenging time."