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We stopped going to Comdex three years ago when the industry started running out of creative gas. Seems like half the show has moved off the floor and into private suites.

[Snerfling]

On Feb 3, 2003, Comdex parent company Key3Media announced that it had filed a prenegotiated Chapter 11 plan, part of a broader effort to reduce its debt. The company has suffered financially as the economy declined and attendance at its shows waned.

The plan calls for Key3Media to eliminate around 87 percent of its debt, dropping the total figure to $50 million. Thomas Weisel Capital Partners will provide debtor-in-possession financing of around $30 million and will end up owning about 99 percent of the recapitalized company.

Key3Media said that it expects to emerge from Chapter 11 within 90 days of filing and that all of its trade shows, including Comdex, Networld+Interop and JavaOne, should take place as scheduled. In September, the company had said it would cancel a number of shows for 2003.

The Las Vegas trade show has traditionally been a launching pad for the high-tech industry, with manufacturers turning the spotlight on new products and technologies. But in a sagging economy, companies have scaled back attendance.