Quirky files for Chapter 11, will sell Wink unit

Perhaps Quirky was too quirky. But Quirky’s Internet of Things-focused offshoot, Wink, will be sold, and now has a $15 million bid from Flextronics, a San Jose, Calif-based supply chain company.

Sources previously told Business Insider that Quirky nearly sold Wink in the spring, but the would-be buyer backed out after a major malfunction of Wink’s products in April. Leveraging the Wink HUB controller, homeowners can manipulate products ranging from lights to garage doors to cameras.

The inventive hardware startup has been publicly struggling over the past year , pivoting away from its original – and unprofitable – model of building products suggested by its community and focusing instead on making partnerships with established companies like GE.

Quirky raised about $170 million in venture capital, according to Dow Jones VentureSource. An attempt to raise another round of funding was not successful.

Before everything fell apart, much worked well at Quirky. Competitors in the amateur-invention space include Edison Nation, which focuses on those creating new products for the consumer and medical space.

The Company has engaged Cooley LLP and Klestadt Winters Jureller Southard & Stevens, LLP as counsel, FTI Consulting as its restructuring advisors, Centerview Partners LLC as investment banker with respect to the Wink assets, and Hilco Streambank as investment banker with respect to the Quirky assets.

In its blog post, Wink noted that its sale will not “impact the Wink experience for our users nor how Wink operates day-to-day”.

Until then, the Wink smart home subsidiary will carry on with day-to-day operations, and engineers and designers will still work on the platform. “Wink will continue to be Wink”.

The filing stipulates that Quirky will also sell all of its assets and is now working with “potentially interested parties” to establish a price, with plans to have a sale close within approximately 60 days.