GT Argues Inability to Disclose Bankruptcy Details, Citing Confidentiality Agreements

GT Advanced Technologies today appeared in a New Hampshire courtroom, asking for non-disclosure in its pending bankruptcy proceedings. According to Reuters, a lawyer for the company told the court that a confidentiality agreement prevented it from disclosing the details surrounding its Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Luc Despins of Paul Hastings told U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Henry Boroff an unspecified confidentiality agreement prevented GT from disclosing the cause of its bankruptcy, or its plan for dealing with the situation. He also acknowledged the 90 percent drop in the company’s stock price in the first three trading days of this week.

GT further asked the court to seal select documents referencing a third-party, noting that the disclosure would violate existing confidentially agreements. The publication of these documents could prove costly to the sapphire maker with potential damages of $50 million per violation. GT failed to identify the third-party company, but it almost certainly is Apple, which is known for its strict confidentiality clauses.

gt_advanced_logo
GT's lawyers also asked that the proceedings be closed to the public as part of what they agree is an "unusual (and perhaps unprecedented)" request. Lawyers from the Department of Justice denounced GT's motions, saying "the record is insufficient for the court to find what the court needs to find."

GT filed for bankruptcy earlier this week, taking Apple and Wall Street by surprise. Apple reportedly was working with the company to help it remain solvent, but those efforts have failed for the time being and GT will seek to restructure its finances moving forward.

Popular Stories

m1 chip slide

Five Years of Apple Silicon: M1 to M5 Performance Comparison

Monday November 10, 2025 1:08 pm PST by
Today marks the fifth anniversary of the Apple silicon chip that replaced Intel chips in Apple's Mac lineup. The first Apple silicon chip, the M1, was unveiled on November 10, 2020. The M1 debuted in the MacBook Air, Mac mini, and 13-inch MacBook Pro. The M1 chip was impressive when it launched, featuring the "world's fastest CPU core" and industry-leading performance per watt, and it's only ...
All Screen iPhone 2027 Feature 1

Apple to Hide Selfie Camera Under Display of 20th Anniversary iPhone

Monday November 10, 2025 1:55 am PST by
Apple will conceal the front-facing camera under the screen of its 2027 iPhone, a Chinese leaker said today, corroborating reports that Apple's 20th anniversary iPhone will have no visible cutouts in the display. Weibo-based account Digital Chat Station said Apple's development of under-screen camera technology was progressing as planned for adoption in 2027, one year after it will...
Early Black Friday Deals 1

The Best Early Black Friday Apple Deals on AirPods, Apple Watch, iPad, and More

Saturday November 8, 2025 6:16 am PST by
We're officially in the month of Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 28 in 2025. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When ...
iphone air thinness

iPhone Air Sales Are So Bad That Apple's Delaying the Next-Generation Version

Monday November 10, 2025 11:41 am PST by
The thin, light iPhone Air sold so poorly that Apple has decided to delay the launch of the next-generation iPhone Air that was scheduled to come out alongside the iPhone 18 Pro, reports The Information. Apple initially planned to release a new iPhone Air in fall 2026, but now that's not going to happen. Since the iPhone Air launched in September, there have been reports of poor sales...
2024 iPhone Boxes Feature

Apple Adjusts Trade-In Values for iPhones, iPads, Macs, and More

Thursday November 6, 2025 11:12 am PST by
Apple today updated its trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models. Trade-ins can be completed on Apple's website, or at an Apple Store. The charts below provide an overview of Apple's current and previous trade-in values in the U.S., according to its website. Maximum values for most devices either decreased or saw no change, but the iPad Air received a slight bump. ...
Apple fitness plus feature

Future of Apple Fitness+ 'Under Review'

Sunday November 9, 2025 5:30 am PST by
The future of Apple Fitness+ is "under review" amid a reorganization of the service, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said that Apple Fitness+ remains one of the company's "weakest digital offerings." The service apparently suffers from high churn and little revenue. Nevertheless, Fitness+ has a small, loyal fanbase that...
iphone pocket%402x

Apple Debuts iPhone Pocket, a Limited Edition iPod Sock-Style Accessory

Tuesday November 11, 2025 1:23 am PST by
Apple has teamed up with Japanese fashion house ISSEY MIYAKE to launch iPhone Pocket, a 3D-knitted limited edition accessory designed to carry an iPhone, AirPods, and other everyday items. The accessory is like a stretchy pocket, not unlike an iPod Sock, but elongated to form a strap made of a ribbed, elastic textile that fully encloses an iPhone yet allows you to glimpse the display...
Liquid Glass General Feature

Apple Shares Liquid Glass Design Gallery

Thursday November 6, 2025 2:45 pm PST by
Apple is promoting the new Liquid Glass design in iOS 26, showing off the ways that third-party developers are embracing the aesthetic in their apps. On its developer website, Apple is featuring a visual gallery that demonstrates how "teams of all sizes" are creating Liquid Glass experiences. The gallery features examples of Liquid Glass in apps for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac. Apple...
iOS 26

iOS 26.1 Available Now With These 8 New Features

Monday November 3, 2025 5:54 am PST by
Following more than a month of beta testing, Apple released iOS 26.1 on Monday, November 3. The update includes a handful of new features and changes, including the ability to adjust the look of Liquid Glass and more. Below, we outline iOS 26.1's key new features. Liquid Glass Toggle iOS 26.1 lets you choose your preferred look for Liquid Glass. In the Settings app, under Display...
iPhone Satellite Feature

Apple Developing These 5 New Satellite Features for iPhone

Sunday November 9, 2025 6:07 am PST by
Apple is working on a series of new satellite connectivity features for the iPhone, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports. In this week's "Power On" newsletter, Gurman revealed that the new features in development include: Apple Maps via satellite: Navigation in Apple Maps without cellular or Wi-Fi connectivity. Photos in Messages via satellite: Support for sending photos in the Messages...

Top Rated Comments

UnfetteredMind Avatar
145 months ago
It sort of is. Apple agreed to finance a bunch of equipment for GTAT with the understanding that Apple would then buy all the products made by the machinery. When Apple withheld the payment GTAT couldnt pay their creditors (e.g. the people who sold the machinery) so they got screwed.

They got screwed because they couldn't deliver what they contractually promised. If they bet the company on delivering, that's Apple's fault? Apple held a gun to their head and made them sign the contract?

Building contractors must love all you people who don't believe contract terms need to be fulfilled for payments to be made.

If they can't suppress the info, I guess we'll get to see the details. Even if they appear lopsided in favor of Apple, GT SIGNED THE CONTRACT. They could have happily continued on their way without Apple's business.

The CEO cashing out definitely seems fishy and as others have stated, I believe he'll be investigated.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tucupeis Avatar
145 months ago
i can´t pay you
why?
i can´t tell you
got it
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mr Fusion Avatar
145 months ago
How exciting. :cool:

Tune in next time on GTRumors...

- "GT Advanced Technologies enters bankruptcy court."
- "GT Advanced Technologies acquired by Apple for pennies on the dollar."
- "Former GT CEO: 'Apple withheld payment in order to bankrupt us and buy us up cheap. I was had!'"

:apple:
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mbh Avatar
145 months ago

It seems that if Cue is as confident as he is about Apple's Fall prospects, why has HE cashed out of his stock?

You can't buy a new Ferrari with AAPL stock. If you're paid mostly in stock options you're going to have to cash some of them out in order to actually buy stuff and pay your taxes. This is normal activity for the company honchos and it has been going on for years. And they have to file a plan to sell their stocks well ahead of time because they obviously have insider information. Guys at Cue's level are operating under a whole different set of rules than us commoners.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MikeSmoke Avatar
145 months ago
If GT missed the deadline by only a few weeks, how was Apple able to get adequate supplies of Corning glass seemingly on a moments notice?
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
HobeSoundDarryl Avatar
145 months ago
I sense some shenanigans here...

GTA's own CEO was reportedly selling off millions of $$$ in shares since the summer. (Doesnt seem that he had much faith in being able to deliver, or he knew something was up.) Either way, I'd be very surprised if the SEC doesn't investigate.
Who at Apple has been talking up "best product pipeline in 25 years besides Cook?"

How many shares was he retaining as of the last time they had to disclose? http://finance.yahoo.com/q/mh?s=AAPL+Major+Holders

I'm not saying the GT guy is or is not a crook but if you are inside a company and you can foresee the possibility of your stock going down, you sell. Or you sell to turn paper (stock) into cash as part of harvesting what you've put into your company.

It seems that if Cue is as confident as he is about Apple's Fall prospects, why has HE cashed out of his stock?

Now click into Cook's shares. He's been selling off shares regularly for the last few weeks. Key word "disposition" (look it up if you need to). At the same time, he's been touting "best product pipeline ever". Why is he selling off shares?

Apple is probably not going into bankruptcy court. But if it surprised us all and did, would we not find similar fault with these insider executives cashing out ahead of the event... especially while simultaneously talking "best product pipeline"? Probably not since this is Apple instead of a non-Apple entity. But the point is that selling off shares by executives to personally profit is relatively normal, whether its non-Apple companies or Apple. I wouldn't be so quick to deem this guy "guilty" because he sold shares.

From my perspective, it looks like a small company got throughly locked into a corner by a big company. For whatever reason, the latter decided not to pay some money that small company expected. The small company was completely locked up in terms of exclusivity so if their ONE client did not pay, they could not make up for the lack of payment by selling to anyone else. Thus, boom.

If you shifted the names of the players so the big company was Samsung or Google or Microsoft and the small company was sent into bankruptcy, would be as quick to try & convict the small company as crook, entirely at fault, etc. Or would we at least be able to see the potential of big company socking it to small company and find at least some fault with the former?

Some of us appear to be practically frothing at the idea of Apple stepping in to acquire this little company for pennies on the dollar. If it was Samsung or others would be as excited to see a small company get gobbled up?

Again, not apologizing for GT: all this remarkably negative speculation against them could all prove out to be true. I'd simply offer that we shouldn't convict before we even have the facts. Apple potentially losing a few hundred million dollars is relatively nothing (how much was Beats again?). On the other hand, about a third of that was apparently enough to drive the small company into bankruptcy court.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)