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Description of Business
9 Months Ended
Apr. 30, 2016
Description of Business
1. Description of Business

Prior to February 1, 2013, Sycamore Networks, Inc. (the “Company” or “Sycamore”) developed and marketed Intelligent Bandwidth Management solutions for fixed line and mobile network operators worldwide and provided services associated with such products (the “Intelligent Bandwidth Management Business”), and, prior to November 1, 2012, the Company also developed and marketed a mobile broadband optimization solution (the “IQstream Business”).

On October 23, 2012, the Company entered into an Asset Purchase and Sale Agreement (the “Asset Sale Agreement”) with Sunrise Acquisition Corp. (now known as Coriant America Inc.), a portfolio company of Marlin Equity Partners (“Buyer”), pursuant to which Buyer agreed to acquire substantially all of the assets (the “Asset Sale”) primarily related to the Intelligent Bandwidth Management Business, including inventory, fixed assets, accounts receivable, intellectual property rights (other than patents and patent applications), contracts, certain real estate leases, the Company’s subsidiaries in Shanghai, the Netherlands and Japan, and certain shared facilities and assets for $18.75 million in cash, subject to a working capital adjustment, and the assumption by Buyer of certain liabilities. The Company’s stockholders authorized the Asset Sale at a Special Meeting of Stockholders held on January 29, 2013 (the “Special Meeting”), and the Asset Sale was completed on January 31, 2013 (the transfer of the Company’s equity interests in its Shanghai subsidiary, which was subject to the receipt of government approval, occurred on March 25, 2013). Upon the closing of the Asset Sale, Buyer acquired substantially all of the Company’s operating assets relating to the Intelligent Bandwidth Management Business, including the Company’s accounts receivable, inventories and prepaid and other assets, and assumed most of the Company’s remaining current liabilities, including substantially all of the Company’s deferred revenue and accrued warranty obligations. In conjunction with the approval of the Asset Sale Agreement, the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”) also approved the liquidation and dissolution of the Company (the “Dissolution”) pursuant to a Plan of Complete Liquidation and Dissolution (the “Plan of Dissolution”) following the completion of the Asset Sale. The Plan of Dissolution was also approved by the stockholders at the Special Meeting and, following a review of the Company’s strategic alternatives for all of the Company’s assets and available options for providing value to the Company’s stockholders, the Company filed a certificate of dissolution with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware (the “Certificate of Dissolution”) on March 7, 2013. For additional information regarding the Dissolution, please see the Company’s Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A filed with the SEC on December 28, 2012 and its Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on March 8, 2013.

In connection with the filing of the Certificate of Dissolution, on March 7, 2013, the Company closed its stock transfer books and discontinued recording transfers of its common stock, $0.001 par value per share (the “Common Stock”). The Common Stock, and stock certificates evidencing shares of the Common Stock, are no longer assignable or transferable on the Company’s books, other than transfers by will, intestate succession or operation of law. The Company also submitted a request to The NASDAQ Stock Market (“NASDAQ”) to suspend trading of the Common Stock on The NASDAQ Global Select Market effective as of the close of trading on March 7, 2013 and, on March 15, 2013, the Company filed a Form 25 with the SEC to delist its Common Stock, which became effective prior to the opening of trading on March 25, 2013. Since the suspension of trading of the Common Stock on The NASDAQ Global Select Market, shares of our Common Stock held in street name with brokers have been trading in the over-the-counter market on the Pink Sheets, an electronic bulletin board established for unlisted securities.

As a result of the completion of the Asset Sale and the Company’s previously announced halting of further development and marketing in connection with the IQstream Business, the Company no longer has any operating assets or revenue. Since the filing of the Certificate of Dissolution, the Company has been operating in accordance with the Plan of Dissolution, which contemplates an orderly wind-down of the Company’s business, including the sale or monetization of the Company’s remaining non-cash assets and the satisfaction or settlement of its liabilities and obligations, including contingent liabilities and claims. As of April 30, 2016, the Company had one remaining employee.

During fiscal year 2014, the Company completed the sale of its patent portfolios. On February 28, 2014, the Company completed the sale of its portfolio of 40 patents and two patent applications related to the Intelligent Bandwidth Management Business (the “IBM Patents”) for $2.0 million to Dragon Intellectual Property, LLC. On May 22, 2014, the Company completed the sale of its portfolio of three United States patents, six United States patent applications and certain foreign patents and patent applications related to the IQstream Business (the “IQstream Patents”) for $0.3 million to Citrix Systems, Inc. Following the sale of the IQstream Patents, the Company has continued to pursue the sale of certain technology and equipment relating to the IQstream Business; however, the Company does not expect to receive any additional material consideration for its remaining IQstream assets.

In accordance with the Purchase and Sale Agreement by and between the Company and Princeton Tyngsborough Commons, LLC (“Tyngsborough Commons”) dated October 10, 2014, and amended on each of February 24, 2015, March 27, 2015, March 30, 2015, July 30, 2015, September 15, 2015, September 30, 2015 and October 9, 2015 (as amended, the “Purchase Agreement”), on December 4, 2015 the Company completed the sale of approximately 102 acres of undeveloped land located in Tyngsborough, Massachusetts to Tyngsborough Commons for a total purchase price of $2.5 million. In accordance with the terms of the Purchase Agreement, all representations and warranties which survived the closing expired on February 29, 2016.

The Company is continuing to pursue the liquidation to cash of its remaining non-cash assets, which primarily consist of the Company’s investment in Tejas Networks India Private Limited, a private company in India that provides optical transport solutions to telecommunications carriers (“Tejas”). In July 2000, the Company made an investment of $2.2 million in Tejas, and it currently owns approximately 5% of the outstanding equity interests in Tejas. The Company is evaluating its available options with respect to its investment in Tejas. The Company currently believes that while it may be possible to realize some value with respect to its investment in Tejas, any present sale of the Company’s Tejas shares would be subject to a discount due to the currently illiquid market for the Tejas shares, among other factors. As a result, and following consideration of potential options that might arise with respect to the Company’s Tejas investment, the Board determined that additional time would be useful to further evaluate whether any potential value that might be realizable from the Tejas investment would exceed the additional costs that would be anticipated to be incurred as a result of extending the Company’s Dissolution period. Accordingly, on February 12, 2016, the Company filed a petition (the “Petition”) in the Delaware Court of Chancery (the “Court of Chancery”) requesting an extension in accordance with the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware of up to an additional two years of the Company’s wind down period, or such shorter period as the Board deems necessary, to make a final determination with respect to the Company’s Tejas investment, which was granted on February 25, 2016.

Although the Board believes that it may be possible to realize some value with respect to its investment in Tejas, such potential value is presently uncertain and subject to substantial risks and uncertainties that are outside of Sycamore’s control, including risks and uncertainties that arise from or relate to certain agreements and obligations among the shareholders of Tejas. As a result, the Board has determined that it cannot reasonably provide an estimate of the net realizable value of its Tejas investment at this time, and Sycamore has assigned no value to the Tejas shares for the purposes of its Statement of Net Assets. The Company cannot provide any assurance as to when, if ever, the Company will be able to realize any value from its investment in Tejas, or that the amount realized will equal or exceed the amount expected to be incurred as a result of the extension of the Dissolution period.

On April 29, 2016, the Company paid a liquidating cash distribution to stockholders of $0.29 per share of Common Stock, or $8.38 million in the aggregate. The Board declared this liquidating distribution after the Court of Chancery, on February 25, 2016, entered an order extending Sycamore’s corporate existence for an additional period of up to two years, ending on March 7, 2018, or such shorter period as the Board deems necessary, to make a final determination with respect to the Company’s remaining non-cash assets. In accordance with that order, the Court of Chancery affirmed that approximately $3.54 million is sufficient to be retained for anticipated wind down costs and expenses, of which any portion that is not required to cover such wind down costs and expenses may be distributed from time to time to the Company’s stockholders in the discretion of the Board in accordance with its fiduciary duties.

Following a final determination by the Board with respect to the remaining non-cash assets, the Company would expect to make a final liquidating distribution and conclude the Dissolution period. In addition, subject to uncertainties inherent in the winding-down of the Company’s business, the Company may make one or more additional liquidating distributions prior to the conclusion of the Dissolution period after payment of, or provision for, outstanding claims in accordance with Delaware law. However, the Dissolution process and the payment of any distribution to stockholders involve substantial risks and uncertainties. Accordingly, it is not possible to predict the timing of the completion of the Dissolution, the timing of any further distributions to stockholders or the aggregate amount of any such distributions, and no assurance can be given that the distributions will equal or exceed the estimate of net assets presented in the Company’s Statement of Net Assets. The Company will continue to analyze its estimates of liquidation expenses on an ongoing basis, and determine whether further distributions of assets to its stockholders are appropriate at such times.