In early April, General Motors inconspicuously secured some virtual real estate that it could potentially use as an information clearinghouse should the company end up seeking bankruptcy protection in the near future.
Seemingly taking the lead from Chrysler, GM registered the domain names gmrestructuring.com and gm-restructuring.com last month.The auto manufacturer has said that it will likely have to file for bankruptcy protection if it is unable to restructure its bond debt, ensure major concessions from its union workers and prove its financial viability before the June 1 deadline set by federal officials.
After accepting billions in federal bailout cash, company executives say that if they are forced to file for bankruptcy they will likely try to quickly liquidate their best assets by selling to a new operating company.
Last month, Chrysler LLC filed for bankruptcy, after which Epiq Systems Inc, a private claims agency responsible for processing court documents during the company’s bankruptcy trial, posted a number of court documents and details of the case for free access through chryslerrestructuring.com.
Other companies who have placed their bankruptcy dockets in the public domain include Lehman Brothers – also registered and posted by Epiq – and Kurtzman Carson Consultants, according to Network Solutions.
A number of auto industry soothsayers have been snatching up such domain names for some time. In 2005, Jon Jerman of Hackensack, New Jersey registered the domain name gmbankruptcy.com, and gmfiat.com was taken by an Italian firm just last week. Hoping for a resurrection, the marketing firm Deutsch Advertising Agency in Los Angeles has recently registered for the rights to gmreborn.com.
None of those who had presciently registered the domain names were available for comment.