PW: Negotiations to Save Crown Continue

Meanwhile, a memo sent by Crown Books president Anna Currence to company employees in early May shows what a tight situation Crown finds itself in. According to the memo, Crown felt that twice in prior weeks it had reached an agreement with its banks and Ingram to keep the company going, only to have the deal fall apart "before we could get it on paper."

Currence said the lack of an agreement stems from the different parties wanting assurances from the others. Currence wrote that "the banks want Ingram to extend their risk further. Ingram wants the banks to extend themselves further and make Ingram more secure. Everyone wants to know what our parent company will do for us." Currence apologized to the employees for the difficult working conditions and asked them to keep doing the best they can.

The memo also mentioned how the installation of the Evolution system last April "very nearly brought the company to its knees."