> The answer in the OP is that Adkinson might lose the Dungeons & Dragons trademark, which had been pledged to Random House as collateral. I expect Random House

> The answer in the OP is that Adkinson might lose the Dungeons & Dragons trademark, which had been pledged to Random House as collateral. I expect Random House would have been happy to sell it to Adkinson - in return for paying off TSR's debt, though maybe Adkinson could get a discount. The question is, how much was that trademark worth on the market? Responding to myself, I missed the obvious when I posted above ... Random House's extension of debt to TSR is a bit mysterious - why did they let a seemingly poorly managed, fading company run up a growing, already unpayable bill? Possibly, Random House wanted the D&D IP all along and if TSR wouldn't sell, it was RH's way of acquiring it. Effectively RH would acquire the IP for $30 million - less than Adkison's $55 million. OTOH, RH could have bid against Adkison. Maybe TSR never gave them the chance; maybe Adkison required an immediate decision; but I'd expect the shareholders to look for better offers.