Five years without a profit, and messy financial fraud allegations spelled the enthusiast firm’s demise

After years of takeover rumors, and five years of losing money on an annual basis, Friday marked the end of the road for flashy solid state drive (SSD) drive firm OCZ Technology Group Inc. (OCZ). Friday was a “black Friday” for OCZ in particular, with stock trades halting after the drivemaker announced that it would be filing for bankruptcy.

The beginning of the end had actual come earlier in the week with an announcement on Wednesday that Hercules Growth Capital Inc. (HTGC) — a lender to startups and troubled assets — had been granted permission to take over OCZ accounts at the Silicon Valley Bank and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association. The takeover was authorized after OCZ defaulted on its loan obligations to Hercules. Without money to continue operations and unable to find an angel investor, OCZ had no choice but to file for bankruptcy.

I. The Glory Years

Founded in 2002 OCZ began as a memory firm catering primarily to the computer gaming enthusiast market. The company saw a large growth in sales in the latter half of last decade, as it diversified into power supplies, solid state drives, and coolers. It even toyed with short-lived graphics card and gaming laptop projects. At the same time OCZ’s physical footprint grew to include satellite offices in The Netherlands, United Kingdom, and Israel, in addition to the company’s central headquarters in San Jose, Calif. and a manufacturing and logistics office in Taiwan.

Full Story: DailyTech – OCZ Goes Bankrupt, SSD Assets are Targeted by Toshiba.