According to foreign media reports, Apple sapphire supplier GT Advanced Technologies recently received an investigation letter from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In the letter, the SEC requested GT to provide it with stock trading information as of January 2013. GT stated that the SEC made this request in a letter, which was signed on October 15. In addition, the SEC also requested information about its sapphire business and a stock issuance.
It is reported that one week before receiving the SEC investigation letter (i.e. October 6), GT submitted a bankruptcy application to the court, and immediately GT’s stock price plummeted 90%. It is worth mentioning that as early as September, GT CEO Tom Gutierrez sold $160,000 worth of company stock. It is unclear whether Tom's move to cash out is also part of the SEC's investigation. Because there is news that Tom already knew that Apple would use sapphire screens on this flagship phone before the release of iPhone 6, so he sold GT shares in advance to obtain a large amount of cash.
Since GTAT filed for bankruptcy, the reason has always been directed at Apple. So what kind of grudges does it have with Apple?
GTAT breaks up with Apple
After unexpectedly announcing its application for bankruptcy protection on October 6, GTAT submitted documents to the New Hampshire Bankruptcy Court on the 9th, asking the court to terminate the company's supply contract with Apple and requesting that the production plant in Arizona be shut down. On the 21st, the court announced that it had agreed to GTAT’s request and terminated the supply contract with Apple.
According to the latest agreement, GTAT will shut down the Mesa, Arizona factory that mainly produces sapphire materials exclusively for Apple, and sell more than 2,000 furnaces in the factory, and Apple will receive part of the proceeds from the sale of the furnaces.
GTAT mainly sells and operates high-end sapphire furnaces that produce sapphire materials. At the end of last year, the company reached an agreement with Apple to cooperate in building a factory in Arizona, USA, to produce sapphire accessories for electronic devices. According to the previous cooperation agreement, GTAT will provide Apple with "low-cost, high-volume sapphire material manufacturing services" and begin shipping in 2015. Apple will pay it $578 million in advance for factory infrastructure construction. As of before GTAT filed for bankruptcy, Apple had paid nearly $440 million in advance payments.
Just on August 6 this year, GTAT also raised its earnings per share forecast for this year in its latest financial report. The company's CEO Gutierrez said at the time that the production facility in Arizona was nearing completion and mass production of sapphire panels was about to begin. He also expressed confidence in the long-term growth potential of the sapphire raw material business, with feedback from partners and potential customers being very strong.
Previously, GTAT had not disclosed any information about the cause of bankruptcy, citing the strict confidentiality agreement signed with Apple. However, the company’s lawyer said on the 21st that GTAT has reached an agreement with Apple and is allowed to disclose most bankruptcy-related information.
The true cause of the bankruptcy revealed
On October 31, it was reported that New Hampshire Bankruptcy Judge Henry Boroff said he would issue a court order to approve the disclosure of a descriptive statement by Daniel Squiller, chief operating officer of sapphire supplier GT Advanced Technologies (hereinafter referred to as GTAT), about how Apple handles relationships with suppliers.
The statement document has been sealed. The content is related to Apple’s differential treatment of small suppliers and the details of cooperation between the two parties. It is the real reason why GTAT suddenly submitted a bankruptcy application.
Apple has been trying to prevent the court from unblocking this content, arguing that it would affect the company's reputation and relationships with other suppliers.
Faced with Apple’s repeated protests, Judge Poroff said he would re-examine the document. But next week, it will issue a court order to expose this part to investors.
"I basically don't think the content is shocking enough to cause harm to a company like Apple," Judge Poroff said.
Earlier, GTAT released an edited COO statement. The statement documents how the company worked for several years to meet the requirements for producing the sapphire material Apple desired. According to GTAT, Apple restricted production at its Arizona processing plant, changed product specifications, and refused to negotiate. This ultimately resulted in the company becoming unprofitable and forced to file for bankruptcy protection.
The cost of suing and challenging the lawsuit was too high and forced to settle with Apple
News on October 29, according to foreign media reports, Apple’s sapphire supplier GT Advanced Technologies recently revealed the truth about its settlement with Apple to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Apple is very wealthy, and GTAT does not have enough litigation funds, so it had to seek settlement with it.
According to the Wall Street Journal, GTAT wrote in a document submitted to the court: "Our original intention is to accuse Apple of violating the contractual claims regulations signed by both parties and sue Apple for unfair behavior. We believe that we can We won the battle with Apple, but fighting a lawsuit with a company with more than 100 billion US dollars in capital is really a huge challenge. At the same time, we cannot afford the high legal fees. Therefore, we can only choose to settle with Apple.”
GT. Advanced's lawyers said the separation was amicable and that the company would no longer seek compensation from Apple and would not do anything to disparage Apple's reputation.
Through the above information, it was discovered that there seems to be a contract between GTAT and Apple, but there are some unknown secrets. Time may reveal whether it is right or wrong.
PREVIOUS：Nanchang Electronic Information LED Industrial Park Project is expected to be completed in April this year
NEXT：Apple acquires energy-saving LED company to prepare for iWatch?
RELATED NEWS
- Guan Baiyu: Joint innovation to promote coordinated development of the LED indus 2026-05-22
- Leading the new direction of screen display technology, Konka Group’s industrial 2026-05-22
- Samsung launches QN85C series mini LED TVs, priced from 11,999 yuan to 31,999 yu 2026-05-22
- Shanghai Feile Audio’s special announcement explains the acquisition doubts 2026-05-22
- There is no doubt that the LED industry has taken off and the next 10 years will 2026-05-22
CATEGORIES
PRODUCTS CATEGORIES
LATEST NEWS
CONTACT US
Contact: mack
Phone: +8613352972563
E-mail: mack@archled.net
Add: Building A2, Mingjinhai Second Industrial Zone, Shiyan Street, Baoan, Shenzhen,Guangdong,China
ANNA