GT Files for Chap 11 After Apple's Sapphire Interest Wanes

GT's revenue prospects apparently were dashed when Apple decided not to expand its use of sapphire to iPhone displays. Sapphire glass is hard, but it's very brittle, noted tech analyst Rob Enderle. "If you were to put a sapphire screen on an iPhone, which bends, the sapphire screen would crack. Gorilla glass flexes a bit, which allows the phone to bend a bit without breaking."

GT Advanced Technologies and seven of its direct and indirect subsidiaries on Monday announced they had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

GT, which makes sapphire components used in the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, expects the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Hampshire to authorize the company to continue to conduct business as usual while it attempts to resolve its current financial issues and develop a reorganization plan.

"GT has a strong and fundamentally sound underlying business," said GT President and CEO Tom Gutierrez. "[Monday's] filing does not mean we are going out of business; rather, it provides us with the opportunity to continue to execute our business plan on a stronger footing, maintain operations of our diversified business, and improve our balance sheet."

On news of the filing, the company's stock, which is traded on NASDAQ, plummeted to 95 US cents a share from $11.06. By mid-day Tuesday, it had edged up to $1.90.