GT Advanced Technology and Apple reached an agreement that will settle the sapphire supplier’s $439 million outstanding debt, reported Wall Street Journal, AppleInsider, and other media reports.
Under the new settlement, GTAT will need to sell 600 of the sapphire furnaces installed in the Arizona plant, while Apple will dispose the remaining furnaces, according to papers filed by GTAT on Monday to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New Hampshire.
Apple’s partnership with GTAT, and its intent of turning the sapphire maker into a sapphire phone cover supplier first surfaced in November 2013. Details of the deal were later publicized in the bankruptcy court. GTAT invested $ 900 million to establish the sapphire production facility in Arizona, where $439 million came from Apple’s advanced payment. When the partnership unraveled, Apple asked to recoup its initial layout.
According to the Wall Street Journal report, GTAT has struggled over the past year to sell the 2,000 sapphire furnaces installed in the Arizona plant to no avail, and its best option to meet the Dec. 31, 2015 deadline is to sell the equipment to bidders through a fast auction.
Court documents noted GTAT had until Nov. 23 to auction off its remaining furnaces before the equipment move-out deadline on Dec. 31, 2015.
The companies are waiting for final approval from the bankruptcy judge before proceeding the settlement.
