factories

Update 7:27 a.m. PT: To include news that the Pirate Bay is back online and statement from site's operators.

The Pirate Bay--the BitTorrent tracker revered by file sharers across the globe and reviled by some of the world's biggest entertainment companies--is under siege like never before.

Black Internet, the largest Internet service provider supplying bandwidth to the site, said Monday that a court in Sweden has threatened it with fines unless it discontinued service to Pirate Bay. The site's operators did find an alternative Web connection and got Pirate Bay up and running, though only … Read more

Updated at 11:25 a.m.: To include quotes from Swedish stock exchange official.

The chairman of Global Gaming Factory X, the company that announced in June it would acquire The Pirate Bay, is stepping down, according to documents filed with Swedish authorities.

Magnus Bergman filed documents on Friday with the Bolagsverket, an official registry in Sweden that stores information on companies, such as the names of directors, how many shares they own, and earnings reports. Bergman indicated in the filings that he would no longer be affiliated with Global Gaming, a company that regulators and the Swedish media have … Read more

Hans Pandeya, CEO of Global Gaming Factory X--the company attempting to acquire The Pirate Bay and now steeped in controversy, says he has revealed the names of his financial backers to The Los Angeles Times.

Since announcing on June 30 his company's plan to acquire The Pirate Bay, Pandeya has declined to provide the names of his investors, who he has said will put up 60 million Swedish Kroner, or about $8.5 million, to fund the acquisition.

The news that surfaced in the past week has called Pandeya's credibility into question.

Swedish stock exchange AktieTorget on Friday … Read more

Sweden's Economic Crimes Bureau has begun an investigation into some of the events surrounding the planned acquisition of The Pirate Bay by Global Gaming Factor X.

Swedish newspaper SvD reported Saturday that authorities are looking for possible insider trading after Global Gaming's stock rose sharply a week before the company announced plans to acquire The Pirate Bay--the best known BitTorrent tracker in the world, which was used by millions to pirate films.

Trading of Global Gaming shares was halted by AktieTorget, a Swedish exchange, on Friday after officials there requested proof that Global Gaming had enough money to … Read more

Update, 3:10 p.m. PDT: To include new statements from Global Gaming CEO that he was being facetious about the company going out of business. Update, 1:45 p.m. PDT: To include new statements from Global Gaming CEO that company may go out of business.

The Pirate Bay has always attracted a lot of controversy, but now scrutiny and criticism has been directed at the company bidding to take over the famed BitTorrent tracker.

The Stockholm-based company that whipped the media into a frenzy in June by announcing it would acquire The Pirate Bay, is being eyed with … Read more

A much more detailed update be found here.

Update 9:00 a.m. PDT: Clarified the reason why regulators stopped trading.

The authorities that govern one of Sweden's stock markets has halted trading in Global Gaming Factory X, the software company that is due in less than a week to complete an acquisition of The Pirate Bay.

Swedish authorities said Friday that they stopped the trading because of questions about Global Gaming's financing and its ability to complete the acquisition.

"Global Gaming Factory has not provided information showing that the full amount is secured," Aktietorget, the … Read more

Peter Sunde Kolmisoppi, a Pirate Bay co-founder who has long been the service's spokesman, reacted to the latest lawsuit filed by the movie industry in his typically defiant way.

He called it "bull****."

On Tuesday, the Motion Picture Association of America filed legal papers in a Swedish court that alleged the three operators: Kolmisoppi, Fredrik Neij, and Gottfrid Svartholm Warg continue to help millions of people commit copyright infringement, even after being sentenced to jail and ordered to pay $3.6 million in damages. In their legal filing, the studios have asked authorities to stop the trio. … Read more

Anybody following the plight of The Pirate Bay may have read Tuesday that the potential acquirers are "back pedaling," "backing out," or that the deal was uncertain.

"Nobody is uncertain about anything," said Hans Pandeya, CEO of Global Gaming Factory, the software company that plans to acquire the Pirate Bay for $7.8 million.

"We are more certain than ever before.There are no changes in our plan," Pandeya told CNET News Tuesday evening. "We'll bring the deal to investors at a shareholders meeting, which we expect to hold in … Read more

The Pirate Bay, a file-sharing site entangled in a court case over pirated music, will be bought by a Swedish software company.

Global Gaming Factory X (GGF) announced the deal Tuesday. The company, which provides digital distribution tools for Internet cafes, will buy The Pirate Bay for cash and shares amounting to $7.76 million. The acquisition is expected to be completed in August.

The Pirate Bay, a BitTorrent tracking site, is involved in a legal battle with major copyright holders, including Warner Brothers, MGM, and Columbia Pictures. In April, the Web site's founders were convicted by a Swedish … Read more