Delivery Agent Inc., which helps sports and entertainment operations sell products online, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy-court protection last week. The San Francisco-based company has multiple industry affiliates: MusicToday (asi/278627), a music merchandise company and pioneer in the direct-to-fan business model; Clean Fun Promotional Marketing (asi/162979); and TV-commerce platform Shop the Shows, LLC.

“This is a very positive development for our company and our customers,” Delivery Agent founder and CEO Mike Fitzsimmons said in a statement. “Through these proceedings, we’re initiating a process that preserves company value, allows the company to reorganize its business affairs and establishes a necessary foundation for future growth and profitability.”

Greg Washer, president of Clean Fun, says that Top 40 distributor HALO Branded Solutions (asi/356000) is in the process of acquiring his company. "HALO also has close relationships with several of our key clients and they certainly understood the needs of the stakeholders in the bankruptcy," Washer told Counselor. "Marc Simon and I worked closely with Delivery Agent and their lenders to maintain order processing continuity while finalizing an agreement to formally sell the remaining business assets to HALO. The business is being fully serviced and we have petitioned the bankruptcy court for approval of the sale."

Delivery Agent said it has obtained a commitment for debtor-in-possession financing which, subject to court approval, will provide the company with the necessary liquidity to continue operations during the bankruptcy proceedings. The company is looking for potential buyers for the firm or its assets.

Court papers obtained by the Wall Street Journal state that Delivery Agent struggled to generate profits from its e-commerce operations. The company also had $20 million in unpaid bills after it shut down a sales agency that represented cable and satellite providers.

MusicToday was launched by Coran Capshaw, manager of Dave Matthews Band and Phish among other bands, in 2000. The Virginia-based company was acquired by Live Nation in 2006, and then acquired by Delivery Agent in 2014.

For 30 years, the California-based Clean Fun Promotional Marketing has catered to the entertainment industry and has been a perennial member of Counselor’s Best Places to Work List. The distributor was acquired by Delivery Agent in 2013.

Founded in 2001, Delivery Agent connected to hundreds of digital commerce storefronts, offering thousands of products relating to television, music and sports. The company also provides in-house services including website operations, product design, development, merchandising, order fulfillment and customer service.