Former type Private Founder Eric H. Paulson | Defunct 2013 Founded 1983 | |
Industry Computer products distribution and publishing Fate Acquired by WYNIT Distribution, LLC Headquarters Greenville, SC, United States Owner Geof Lewis and Peter Richichi | ||
Navarre Corp. was a public distribution and publishing company founded in 1983 by Eric H. Paulson. The company is headquartered in New Hope, Minnesota. Navarre owns two subsidiary companies: a software publisher, Encore, Inc., and a distributor, Navarre Entertainment Media. The company formerly offered niche films through BCI Home Entertainment a.k.a. BCI Eclipse Company (formerly Brentwood), but this division was closed in a 2008 re-structuring due to the recession, after 2 years of being unprofitable.
Contents
- Acquisition and sale of Funimation Entertainment
- Merger with SpeedFC and name change to Speed Commerce
- References
In June 2005, Navarre determined that its financial statements for 2004, and the first and third quarter of 2005, should be restated, because expenses related to the incentive-based deferred compensation of the company's CEO was recorded in the wrong quarter.
Acquisition and sale of Funimation Entertainment
In May 2005, Navarre acquired Funimation Productions. After the sale, Funimation Productions changed its name to Funimation Entertainment. Then, in April 2011, Navarre sold Funimation to a group of investors including Funimation co-founder Gen Fukunaga.
Merger with SpeedFC and name change to Speed Commerce
On September 28, 2008, Dallas-based SpeedFC agreed to merge with Navarre for $50 million in cash and stock. The merger closed in 2013; the company changed their name from Navarre Corporation to Speed Commerce afterward.
On July 9, 2014, Syracuse, NY based Wynit Distribution LLC acquired the majority of the assets of Navarre Distribution Services and Encore from Speed Commerce. Since then, the Navarre name has been retired.