Software Maker Wiz Technology Files Chapter 11

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO —  Wiz Technology Inc., a troubled supplier of discount software, has filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Court protection, the company said in a regulatory filing.

The document, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, gave no reason for the bankruptcy petition. It said the Chapter 11 filing was made last Thursday in federal Bankruptcy Court in Santa Ana.

Company officials could not be reached for comment. Under Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code, a company is allowed relief from its creditors while it forms a plan to reorganize and pay its debts.

Before the filing, Wiz suffered a string of setbacks, including a restating of its financial results for its fiscal second quarter ended Jan. 31, 1997, because it recognized revenue from certain contracts in the quarter, rather than as the cash was received. As a result, its loss for the quarter was restated as $1.77 million, or 20 cents a share, instead of the $924,687, or 10-cents-a-share loss, it originally reported.

A year ago, the company’s stock was delisted from the American Stock Exchange for failing to meet minimum earnings and other requirements. Wiz’s stock now trades on the electronic bulletin board at about a penny a share.

Wiz was founded in 1991, and sold its software through nontraditional retailers such as grocery chains, drugstores and gift shops. Then it changed gears, concentrating its efforts more on big chains such as CompUSA. It proved a costly mistake, and the company later shifted back to its core market.