Central Park Media filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in federal bankruptcy court last Friday, citing assets of $126,282 vs. secured liabilities of $908,173 and unsecured liabilities of $277,531.  Bank of America was the only secured creditor, and according to minutes of the CPM board of directors meeting held on April 23rd, the company was to file bankruptcy if changes to a forbearance agreement with the bank could not be negotiated   

The two largest unsecured creditors were the company’s landlord and law firm.

The assets were primarily accounts receivable, with some limited inventory.  No specific value (or an unknown value) was assigned to the company’s intellectual property rights and master tapes.

Central Park Media was one of the most important players in the rise of anime in the U.S., beginning its distribution of anime here in 1990.  It also played a role in the rise of manga in the U.S., taking an early position in yaoi titles, and was a leader in localizing manhwa titles from Korea. 

After the bankruptcy of Musicland in 2006, CPM cut back (see “CPM Cuts Staff”), and never rebounded, relying on repackages of older anime releases, some experimentation with Japanese live action films, and a handful of manga titles.  Staff and the number of new releases dwindled in the following years, until the bankruptcy filing this month.